Crisis-trained Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) chaplains ministered in Washington, D.C., after 67 people lost their lives in a crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
There were no survivors from a midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that left wreckage across the icy Potomac River on Jan. 29.
Chaplains offered emotional and spiritual support to people near the airport, including first responders and family members of the deceased.
Chaplain Ruth Stout-Miller met one somber young woman, Rosa,* sitting in a nearby hotel lobby.
“She just looked sad, upset,” said Stout-Miller. “I went over and knelt down beside her chair.”
Rosa shared that she had lost a family member in the collision.
“My family is having a really hard time,” she said. “They haven’t recovered his body.” She added that her religious beliefs mandated a strict burial process that was not possible in this situation.
All bodies have been recovered from the wreckage since their conversation.
Stout-Miller listened and comforted Rosa as she talked through her pain.
“I really appreciate you all being here,” Rosa said, welcoming the chaplain’s prayer. The two shared a hug before parting ways.
The team of chaplains also set up a Mobile Ministry Center (MMC) as a place for conversations and encouragement. It offered a warm respite from the bitter cold outside.
One firefighter—who had been working at the crash site—talked with chaplains inside the MMC.
Chaplains deployed to Washington, D.C., after the deadliest plane crash nationwide occurred in over two decades.
