Seven friends’ Kansas waterfowl hunting trip ends in tragedy with D.C. plane crash
A group of seven friends from the D.C. area who traveled to Kansas to hunt waterfowl died in Wednesday’s crash of Flight 5342, according to multiple family members and an outfitter who spent several days with them.
The seven hunters had come to Kansas in a party of 10 to hunt with outfitter Fowl Plains, based out of Great Bend. Three from the group opted to drive home because it made it easier to transport their hunting dogs and shotguns.
The seven who died in the plane crash are Jesse Pitcher, 30; Michael Stovall, 40; Steve Johnson, 45; Alexander Huffman, 34; Charles McDaniel, 44; Jonathan Boyd, 40; and James “Tommy” Clagett, 43.
Photos from the hunting trip show they were successful, bagging a highly sought-after drake northern pintail and dozens of snow geese, white-front geese and Canada geese.
After the multi-day hunt, seven of the men boarded a flight bound for Washington, D.C. that collided with a military helicopter as the plane approached the Ronald Reagan National Airport.
All 67 people in the two aircraft were killed in the crash, although not all of the bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River.
Four of the seven who were killed in the crash were members of the UA Steamfitters Local 602 labor union in Maryland and several others knew each other through their work as tradesmen.
Chase White, an owner of Fowl Plains, the outfitter in Great Bend that hosted the men, said he and the men all shared meals together and conversations about all topics of life.
He said some of the men had come in past years. This year’s trip included three days of duck hunting, some goose hunting and a “European” pheasant hunt, where birds are released for shooters who are waiting in blinds.
“For them to be able to do something for the last five or six days that they all loved together,” he said, “you know, I think that is something really special for sure.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 10:28 PM.