It was a shock to many Americans last week when American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter collided in midair causing both aircraft to plunge into the icy Potomac River alongside Reagan National Airport within sight of Washington, D.C. Sixty-four people on the jet and three in the helicopter were all killed. It was the first fatal passenger aircraft crash in the United States since 2009. While crews continue to work to retrieve all of the wreckage for the FAA investigation, the Unified Command reported yesterday that all 67 of the bodies have been recovered.
Among each individual tragedy there were several groups of people with whom the tragedy has particularly reverberated: the ice skating community and the hunting community. Among the passengers on the plane were 14 members of the U.S. Figure Skating organization including competitors and coaches, as well as their family members. Among another group of passengers were seven friends from southern Maryland, who were returning home from their annual duck and goose hunting trip with Fowl Plains Outfitters in Great Bend, Kansas.
Tragedy Rocks the Hunting Community
The loss of the seven hunters has hit the waterfowling community particularly hard. After all, how many of us have boarded a plane for a hunt or other exciting adventure never even considering we might not make it home. And on this trip, the plane was on the final approach, only several hundred feet in the air, when tragedy struck. Among waterfowling circles in the East of Virginia and Maryland, several of the men were well known and very much liked. They were returning from their hunt with Fowl Plains Outfitters in Great Bend, Kansas, a highly regarded guide service that delivers world-class duck and goose hunting in the central plains of Kansas. I’ve been there the past two years, most recently in early December and flew out of Wichita for another DC-area airport, Dulles. The hunting there is amazing, the outfitters wonderful and capable people, the food beyond spectacular and safe flights to and from such places are something we’ve come to take for granted. It’s a reminder nothing in this life is guaranteed.
Fowl Plains expressed their grief on Instagram following the crash, posting:
We’ve always said our clients are more than friends. They’re family. Last night we lost 7 family members in the horrific plane crash. 7 family members we’ve had the privilege to hunt with the last few years.
We’ve spent this past week, sharing the blind, laughing, talking about our families, and sharing memories. We are completely heartbroken. Please pray for the families, friends and for our 3 other hunters in the group who were driving home.
Heartbroken is an understatement.
Remembering the Victims
Among those hunters killed in the crash included Michael “Mikey” Stovall, 40, and Jesse Pitcher, 30. Stovall’s mother, Christina Stovall, described her son as “the happiest person,” a man who “saw good in everybody.” Pitcher had recently married and was in the process of building a home, his father, Jameson Pitcher, told The New York Times.
Four of the hunters were members of Steamfitters UA Local 602, a Washington, D.C.-based union. The union didn’t release any names at the time of their post but expressed, “Our hearts are heavy with grief.”
According to Outdoor Life, the other five hunters who died in the crash in addition to Stovall and Pitcher were Jonathan “Jon” Boyd, 40; Tommy Clagett, 38; Alexander “Alex” Huffman, 34; Steve Johnson, 45; and Charles “Charlie” McDaniel, 44.
Helping the Families
The outdoor community has quickly rallied to help the families of the hunters lost in the crash through the establishment of a GoFundMe and a pair of high-end raffles.
The GoFundMe fundraiser has already brought in more than $211,000 in just a week with top donations from companies like Kody Holdings, an auto group in Waldorf, Maryland, that donated $10,000 and other outdoor companies and organizations such as Benelli that donated $1,000, GSM Outdoors $5,000, Fred’s Outdoors $7,000, Southern Maryland Delta Waterfowl $4,500, Black Swamp Bucks $1,000 and others. So far, the fundraiser has brought in more than 1,300 total donations to go toward helping the families.
Southern Oak Kennels and Fowl Plains, the outfitter where the hunters last hunted, are both offering raffles to raise additional funds for the families.
Fowl Plains is offering an all-inclusive three-day Kansas goose hunt at their lodge. The hunt will take place in February 2026, the state’s prime goose hunting season, and includes three days of hunting, lodging, meals and drinks for the winner and nine friends. That’s a value of at least $26,000. Each entry into the raffle is only $100 and for each $100 spent, the buyer will have another chance entered into the drawing. Entries are available until 8 p.m. CST on February 14. A winner will be drawn from the pool of entries on the evening of February 15.
The raffle page on BetterWorld.org states: “The proceeds from each entry sold will go directly to the families of seven men who tragically died in the crash of PSA Airlines Flight 5342. These men were traveling home from goose hunting at Fowl Plains, and the entire Fowl Plains family is mourning the loss of these friends. Our hope is that this fundraiser will help these families in a tangible way as they continue to heal from such a terrible loss.”
Southern Oak Kennels (SOK), headquartered in Guntown, Mississippi, and with eight locations throughout the upper Midwest, East and South, is a premier dog breeder and trainer that focuses on creating high-quality British Labrador retrievers who excel in the field as well as the home. Their raffle will raise funds for the family of Mikey Stovall, who had a retriever bred and trained from SOK’s Great Lakes location in East Leroy, Michigan. SOK is raffling a package that includes a puppy from British Field Trial Champion “Ozzy” and SOK-bred Grand Hunt Retriever Champion “Rose,” three months of training at SOK Great Lakes, a membership to Cornerstone Gundog Academy’s Complete Retriever Package and a Gunner Kennel.” Like the other raffle, entries are $100 each and will be available until 8 p.m. CST on February 14 with a winner drawn the following evening of February 15.
Nothing can replace the loss of these men to their families or friends or for themselves, whose lives were cut way too short, but by contributing to these great fundraisers, your dollars will go a long way in helping the families heal and be able to move forward in such an unimaginable situation.
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