Vikesh Patel.Photo:LinkedIn
A newlywed aerospace engineer for General Electric is among the victims killed inthe Washington, D.C., plane crash.
GE Aerospace announced in apost on Xon Thursday, Jan. 30, that “one of our cherished colleagues was onboard the flight” the night prior when an American Airlines plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.
Patel married his wife Audrey Keene in April 2024 in a Hindu ceremony,The Kansas City Starreported.
Dipak Patel, Vikesh’s father, did not want to speak to the paperbut confirmed, “He was my son.”
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GE Aerospace did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
American Airlines said 64 people, including 60 passengers and four crew members, were on Flight 5342 when the fatal crash occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter, near Washington, DC, on January 30, 2025.ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty
More than two dozen peoplewho were on the plane were part of the global figure skating community, according to astatementfrom Samuel Auxier , Interim CEO of U.S. Figure Skating.
Todd Inman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it will take30 days to complete a preliminary investigation, but that it could take over a year for a final probable cause to be released.
“We’re going to work. We’re going to continue. We’re going to find out what happened and we’re going try to stop it from happening again,” Inman toldGood Morning Americaon Friday, Jan. 31.
source: people.com
