Prayer service scheduled in Wichita after American Airlines flight crashes with 64 aboard

A prayer service will be held at noon Thursday in Wichita after an American Airlines flight from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport crashed in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.

The service will be hosted by the Greater Wichita Ministerial League in the council chambers at City Hall, 455 N. Main.

The American Airlines plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac. The airline has confirmed that 60 passengers and four crew members were on board.

“Let’s just commit to caring for one another, praying for each other, especially families of victims, and simply keep remembering the Lord’s promises to guide us in times like these,” Chaplain Ben Staley said.

Staley was part of a team at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport helping families as they arrived to get more information about the crash.

Dozens of family members showed up at the airport Wednesday night as a massive search-and-rescue mission continued in the Potomac.

American Airlines flight 5342 was approaching Runway 33 at Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, when it collided with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, according to the FAA.

This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 1:04 AM.