Expressing Condolences to the Families, Friends, and Loved Ones of the Victims of the Crash of American Eagle Flight 5342 and Pat 25

Floor Speech

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Mr. ESTES. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Mann for managing the floor time on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 153, a resolution honoring the victims of Flight 5342 and Black Hawk PAT 25 and offering condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones.

First, I offer my own condolences, prayers, and support to those who are mourning the loss of a loved one. While it has been a little more than a month since this tragic incident, there are still no words to adequately express the heartbreak we all feel at their loss and no words that can properly console them. I pray that, in time, God would give them and all those impacted a peace that would surpass all understanding.

Just as we stand with those suffering now in their time of loss, we will continue to stand with them as we continue to understand what happened on that tragic night of January 29. I hope the answers that are uncovered will help bring some closure to those grieving and help ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again.

Mr. Speaker, as we honor the 67 lives cut short by this accident, I also thank the countless first responders who rushed to the scene to first try to rescue and then recover those aboard Flight 5342 and PAT 25. Thanks to their tireless and selfless efforts, the bodies of all 67 victims have been recovered.

Additionally, I extend thanks to the staff of Wichita's Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and to the greater Wichita community, where Flight 5342 originated, for their efforts to embrace and lift up those impacted by that crash. In towns and cities across the Nation and the world, countless other communities have banded together to similarly show support to the members of their community who lost a loved one on that tragic night.

It is in each home, school, workplace, and community where each of the 67 victims was known and loved that they will continue to be remembered, celebrated, and honored. As we have learned more about the individual passengers aboard the plane, as well as the pilots and flight crew of Flight 5342 and the crew of the Black Hawk, we have come to know how much they meant to the people around them and how much they will be missed.

We commit to honoring their memory by doing the best we can to carry out a thorough investigation and make whatever changes are deemed necessary.

I am grateful to the National Transportation Safety Board, the FAA, the Army, and all the other involved agencies for the swift progress they have made thus far and for the work they are committed to carrying out.

I also extend my thanks to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves for his help in bringing this resolution to the floor and to all the Members who have offered their support during this time.

The devastating plane crash coincided with Kansas Day, the day our State was founded 164 years ago. It is typically a day of recognizing the State's heritage and when schoolchildren across the State learn Kansas facts and symbols. Beyond the sunflower, western meadowlark, and ``Home on the Range,'' our State is known for something else not found in a textbook or school worksheet: our compassion and care for one another.

Kansas is a special place to call home. After a tragedy like what happened on January 29, we not only grieve with the families and friends we know, but we grieve for all those who lost their lives that evening.

More than a month has passed since the events of January 29, but that is a date that will be forever etched in the minds and hearts of the American people.

As their Representatives in Congress and the Representative of the Air Capital of the World, we come together today to offer our sincerest condolences to each person who is grieving the loss of a loved one and to honor the victims of Flight 5342 and PAT 25.

Mr. Speaker, may they rest in peace.

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