Flight Attendant Killed in D.C. Plane Crash Was 'Dedicated' to Her Job: 'One of Her Dreams,' Brother Says

Mar. 15, 2025

Danasia Elder Brown.Photo:Gofundme

Gofundme

The flight was carrying 64 people from Wichita, Kan., 60 passengers and 4 crew members — including Elder, who was 34.

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA paid tribute to Elder and fellow flight attendant Ian Epstein, who also died in the crash. In a post toFacebook, the organization shared their grief through personal statements from their fellow AFA members.

“Flight attendants doing stop flying, they just fly a little higher,” read a statement from Ben, who kept his last name private. He then wrote to the families of the victims: “May you find solitude in your thoughts, prayers, and meditations today, and in the coming days and weeks.”

Elder was from Charlotte, where she trained to become a flight attendant. A classmate from the training process told Charlotte-based NBC affiliateWCNCthat she was a friendly person with a beautiful smile, and had a true passion for flying.

Danasia Elder Brown.AFA/Facebook

AFA/Facebook

“Danasia was very dedicated to being a flight attendant,” said the classmate, who wished to remain anonymous. They added, “She loved her family tremendously, and she would just light up whenever she spoke about them.”

The late flight attendant’s brother, Dajour Brown, shared that she was a wife and mother of two children, ages 13 and 4. In the description for theGoFundMeset up for her, he asked for prayers amid the family’s sudden grief and said any funds donated would go towards his sister’s children and husband.

A relative toldNBC Newsthat the Jan. 29 flight was to be her last flight before she changed careers within American Airlines.

Also among the crash’s victims were fourteen figure skaters, a number of parents and students from Fairfax Public Schools in Virginia, four union members and three U.S. Army soldiers.

Sam Lilley, the pilot on the American Airlines flight, and was engaged to be married in the fall of 2025, his father shared. In an emotionalFacebookpost, Timothy Lilley mourned his son, who died at age 28, writing that “it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep.”

“I know I’ll see him again but my heart is breaking,” the dad continued. “He was doing great in his career and his personal life. He was engaged to get married in the fall. Sam was the First Officer on the flight that crashed in DC last night. It is so devastating to lose someone that is loved so much.”

source: people.com