Midwest
Kansas lawmakers vow to find answers after Wichita plane crash in DC
Kansas’ entire congressional delegation is vowing to find answers for the families grieving loved ones after the deadly crash of a flight from Wichita to Washington D.C., which officials have said left no survivors.
A Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines PSA commercial jet that was moments from landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport Wednesday night, temporarily halting all flights in and out of the small but critically located airport.
“Our prayers are with the families and friends of those affected by the tragic plane crash that occurred in our nation’s capital. South Central Kansas is a close community, and it’s likely that many of us directly or indirectly know people who were on Flight 5342 on Jan. 29,” the lawmakers’ joint written statement said.
VIDEO SHOWS DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT, BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER
Rep. Ron Estes, left, and Sen. Roger Marshall, right, were part of Kansas’ congressional delegation statement on the tragic American Airlines PSA collision. (Getty Images)
“This is a sad day for Kansans and our nation, and this community, steeped in aviation and manufacturing history, will feel the pain of this catastrophe for years to come. We are grateful for the first responders and rescue crews who worked through the night.
“Our focus now is supporting the family and friends of those who perished, including the crew and military personnel, and then getting answers for the grieving individuals who have lost a loved one and making sure this doesn’t happen again.”
It was signed by GOP Kansas senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, as well as Republican House representatives Ron Estes, Tracey Mann, Derek Schmidt and the delegation’s lone Democrat, Sharice Davids.
Estes represents much of Wichita, where the flight originated.
Moran said in a press conference shortly after midnight Thursday he was familiar with the flight route, having lobbied American Airlines for it to begin last year.
President Donald Trump briefed reporters on the crisis earlier Thursday, saying there were no survivors from the crash.
President Donald Trump briefed the media on the crash. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Members of Trump’s new Cabinet, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, both promised to find swift answers for the families grieving loved ones after the crash.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who represents Arlington County, where the airport is located, similarly said he would work toward accountability.
“As the local representative, I want the families to know that our office is available to serve you in any way that we possibly can in this time of grief and transition and loss,” Beyer said at another press conference Thursday morning.
AMERICAN AIRLINES CEO EXPRESSES ‘DEEP SORROW’ AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION
“And then, also, I’d just note that we are deeply grateful for the people who risked their lives last night on a moment’s notice and spent the whole night on the river in the ice and the wind, serving us.”
Beyer added that, through the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) probe into the crash, “we’ve got to make sure that, at the federal level and with the support of Virginia, Maryland, and D.C., we’re doing everything we can to make sure that this does not happen again.”
Six white roses and photographs of victims are displayed at The Skating Club of Boston Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Norwood, Mass. (Charles Krupa/AP Photo)
American Airlines has said 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane, and the airline encouraged any loved ones looking for information to call the numbers on its site.
U.S. officials are investigating why the Black Hawk helicopter flew into the path of the descending plane, Duffy told reporters.
“I would say the helicopter was aware there was a plane in the area,” he said.
Hegseth said the helicopter was manned by an experienced crew and was undergoing an “annual proficiency training flight.”
Duffy told reporters that while the collision was a highly unusual and tragic event, the two aircraft’s mutual patterns were not atypical.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
There are mornings when I sit down at this keyboard, look at the Browns quarterback discourse, and wonder whether I should have gone into a more stable line of work. Such as selling timeshares from inside an office that has been lit on fire. Because here we are in late June, with no pads, no preseason games, no live pass rush, and apparently everyone from television personalities to team-adjacent announcers to webdorks like me has solved the Browns quarterback battle. That’s 90% of the news items out there this morning.
But I don’t care, and look on that endless speculative churning as simply being noise at this point.
One story that matters this morning is Andrew Healy leaving Cleveland for Minnesota, which I wrote about several days ago. He’s joining the Vikings as an assistant general manager.
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If your first reaction was, “Okay, front-office guy changes jobs, wake me when someone throws a slant,” I get it. Executives mostly become famous when something goes wrong, which is a cruel system, but, hey, I didn’t design the planet. I just live here.
But Healy’s departure is a real loss. Alec Lewis’ Athletic reporting had two quotes that should get your attention. Browns offensive analyst Dom Borsani called Healy “a little bit like a unicorn,” because he combined research background and technical aptitude with a traditional scouting lens and an understanding of coaching schemes. Former Browns senior software developer Zach Zelinsky, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, called him “probably the smartest guy I’ve worked with in sports.”
That’s not normal praise. That’s not “great teammate, first guy in, last guy out” boilerplate. This is people inside the machine saying the Browns just lost one of the people who helped connect the spreadsheet world to the football world. And that matters because the modern NFL is not analytics versus scouting anymore — or at least it shouldn’t be. The good organizations are the ones where the numbers people understand what the scouts are seeing, the scouts trust that the numbers can challenge their assumptions, and the coaches don’t throw the laptop into Lake Erie.
Healy’s Sloan Sports Analytics bio says that, for the last five years, he “led the integration of data and advanced insights into all parts of football operations.” It also says he started with the Browns in 2016 as Senior Player Personnel Strategist, helping to develop methods for valuing players, making game decisions, and evaluating draft assets. Before that, he created projection systems for Football Outsiders, and before that, he was an economics professor with a Ph.D. from MIT. So, yes, he is smarter than your humble webdork. This is not a high bar, but still.
So, naturally, I was worried about this and did what I always do when I’m looking for common-sense answers: I talked to Lane. He let me know what he “was told all the systems have been in place, with others handling the process. It doesn’t feel like they are overly concerned with his departure. As they have told me previously, you never like to lose assets, but you plan accordingly.”
The Browns still have Andrew Berry. They still have people in the research department. This is not a one-man shop collapsing because the smartest guy took his stapler to Minneapolis. But when you lose Paul DePodesta to the Rockies and Healy to the Vikings in the same general era, you lose institutional memory, decision-making frameworks, and the people who knew why certain models were built the way they were. Don’t expect the loss of the two to indicate much about how the Browns use analytics – it hasn’t fallen out of favor or suddenly joined Maurice Carthon’s playbook in the annals of football history.
This is the type of stuff fans don’t see until two years later, when the draft board feels different, the fourth-down decisions get twitchy, or the team suddenly stops finding value in places it used to find value. Maybe Berry replaces that brainpower cleanly. Maybe the remaining group steps forward. Maybe the Browns are fine. But losing a “unicorn” from a front office is like losing a left guard: nobody talks about it until the pressure starts coming up the middle.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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THE WATERCOOLER
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond…
Space.com reports that scientists are drawing up a research blueprint to examine whether warming Mars is actually feasible — not because anyone should be selling lakefront property in Olympus Mons by Thursday, but because the work could help humanity understand what sustainable habitats beyond Earth would require. University of Chicago geophysical scientist Edwin Kite told Space.com, “We do not yet know enough to create a biosphere from scratch,” which is both humbling and oddly comforting. We can’t even get everyone to agree on the Browns quarterback depth chart, but sure, let’s keep the option open for Mars.
WRAPPING UP
When not trying to identify the precise moment quarterback analysis becomes interpretive dance, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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CHICAGO (WLS) — The Jimmy Awards honoring “theatre kids” is happening on Monday night in New York City!
Jane Nuich from Park Ridge and Logan Arroyo of Tinley Park will represent Illinois. They’ll be competing against over 100 students from across the nation.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
ABC7’s Hosea Sanders has been following their adventure that leads to a Broadway debut.
When asked if they’ve been intimidated about what’s to come, Arroyo said, “Yes, it’s scary. It’s a scary place, especially putting yourself out there on a stage or alone. I want to be an actor, and I will do whatever I can to do that.”
Nuich added, “It’s a huge opportunity to work with industry professionals and with so many other talented young people. And you get to experience so much in New York in that short week. And it’s, I think, such a cool experience rather than a big competition.”
Sanders also Arroyo and Nuich what growing up in the Chicago area has done for their exposure and their goals.
“I think the immediate access to all of the theater that Chicago has to offer has been so incredible to me. As a young student of theater and young performer in theater, I think it’s been so educational to me, and so inspiring to be able to anywhere in Chicago in a quick moment from the suburbs to just see so much theater,” Nuich said. “I think it’s so comforting to know you’re surrounded by so many artists who are just as passionate as you. And I think that going into a career in this, it’s so incredible to be exposed to so many young performers who are so talented and passionate as this age.”
Arroyo added, “I’m so excited to be around people I care about and love this as much as I do.”
When asked what previous Illinois Jimmy winners have told the performs, Nuich said, “It goes by really fast, that a lot will happen, but it’s important to stay grounded and to take it all in and realize what a special experience it is, and you just keep working hard.”
“My big dream is to do what I love and love myself for doing it,” Arroyo said.
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