Disaster Recovery
DC Air Crash Victims Include Kiewit, Other Contractor Managers, and University Engineering Major, 20
Crews working to clear wreckage and recover victims from the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. following the Jan. 29 mid-air collision of an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, were set to complete salvage lift operations for the plane on Feb. 6, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It then expects to shift crane operations to the helicopter wreckage and large debris field cleanup.
All of the jet’s four airline employees and 60 passengers, and the helicopter’s three-person crew died in the crash. With all 64 crash victims retrieved and identified as of Feb. 6, ENR has learned that a number of those on board had long-term or early connections to engineering and construction.
The regional jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, had flown from Wichita, Kan., and was on approach to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided mid air with a UH-60 Black Hawk over the river near the airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The helicopter was flying a training mission from Fort Belvoir, Va., the Army said.
Jesse Pitcher, 30, seen here on hunting trip in Kansas, was an eight-year plumbers' union member based in Maryland who had gained a journey-level license and started a contracting firm in 2020 with a partner. Image: His GoFundMe page
Industry Connections
A Kiewit Corp. spokeswoman confirmed to ENR the death of Robert Prewitt, a former member of ironworkers’ union Local 5 in Largo, Md., who was a superintendent for contractor subsidiary TIC–The Industrial Co., based in Maryland. He “started with our company as an ironworker in 2016, and in 2021 accepted a staff position as a superintendent,” she said. “We are deeply saddened by the sudden, tragic loss."
Prewitt’s age and his current project assignment could not be confirmed, nor the reason for his plane trip, which some media claimed was business related.
The United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) confirmed on Jan. 31 that six of those who died are current union members based in two Maryland locals—five belonging to Local 602 based in Capitol Heights and one in Local 5 based in Lanham. The website of Local 602 says it has “over 6,000” journey, apprentice and helper members who work for about 200 regional firms in mechanical construction and related areas.
The members were returning from an annual hunting trip to Kansas, multiple media reports said but the union did not confirm.
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In a social media post, UA President Mark McManus and Local 602 Business Manager Chris Madello said of the members: “Who they were and what they meant to all of us will never be forgotten." They said financial support could be provided through donations to the union charitable trust.
Several UA members and others on the flight had built careers as construction field managers and as executives of Washington, D.C., region contractors.
Jesse Pitcher, 30, was an eight-year Local 5 member who had gained a journey-level license and started a plumbing firm in 2020 with a partner after a pandemic layoff. He also was building his own house, according to comments by his father Jameson Pitcher and partner Charlie Gray to the Wichita Eagle and the New York Times.
Charles “Charlie” McDaniel, 44, was a 22-year Local 602 member who was vice president and general manager of American Mechanical Services, Laurel, Md., since April 2023, his LinkedIn profile says, starting his career as a jobsite crew leader and apprentice.
Jonathan Boyd, 40, with 20 years as a Local 602 member, was senior vice president of mechanical and plumbing installation firm Heffron Co., in Kensington, Md.
Michael “Mikey” Stovall, 40, a 19-year Local 602 member, was superintendent at Gaghan Mechanical, Alexandria, Va., which performs general construction and HVAC work in the D.C. metro area. With Stovall on the hunting trip was James “Tommy” Clagett, not listed as a union member but who was executive vice president of Gaghan Mechanical and a 16-year company veteran.
Also among those killed was Alexander “Alex” Huffman, 34, a nine-year UA member, the union said.
The youngest victim with an industry link was Grace Maxwell, 20, a mechanical engineering junior at Cedarville University, located northeast of Cincinnati in Greene County, Ohio, according to a school official who spoke to a local TV station. Set to graduate in 2026, she was described by university president Thomas White as as a "thoughtful, quiet student leader who helped teach other undergraduates about engineering,” according to media reports.
Recovery Works Continues
Col. Francis Pera, commander of the Corps Baltimore District, told reporters Feb. 2 that all recovered material will be transported to a hangar for the National Transportation Safety Board crash investigation, with an initial crash report released by March 1. “We’re extremely deliberate about how we’re approaching this,” he said
The Coast Guard established a temporary safe zone in the area, shutting the river to traffic north of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge during the operation.
The Corps is working with the U.S. Navy’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving and U.S. Coast Guard on the recovery effort, along with Hillside, N.J.-based contractor DonJon Marine Co. Inc., according to a representative from the Corps district. DonJon previously worked on wreckage removal of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
After recovering the jet, crews using cranes plan to shift to recovering the helicopter, according to the Corps. Officials anticipate total cleanup site work to demobilize by Feb. 16.
