A Pakistani woman, Asra Hussain Raza, was among those who lost their lives in a tragic mid-air collision in the United States. The accident involved a passenger plane and a U.S. military Black Hawk training helicopter.
Asra was aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 when the aircraft was struck midair, resulting in a fatal crash. Just minutes before the tragedy, she had messaged her husband, Hamaad Raza, telling him she would be landing in Washington in about 20 minutes. That was her last message.
Hamaad, waiting at the airport for her arrival, never heard from her again. His father, Dr. Hashim Raza, told Reuters, “Asra was everything to us… Now my son is a widower at 25. What do I even say to him?”
Asra and Hamaad met at Indiana University Bloomington, where she studied corporate finance. She later earned a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and worked in Washington, hoping to make a difference in public health policy.
Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Dr. Hashim Raza is a highly regarded doctor in Missouri. Asra, 26, and Hamaad, 25, had been married for two years. A close family friend shared that Asra never felt comfortable flying, yet it was a work trip that led to the heartbreaking loss.