DC mid-air collision: Vigil at Charlotte Douglas honors local flight crew

WASHINGTON — Waves of support and tributes from across the nation continue to pour in to remember the lives lost in last Wednesday’s deadly mid-air collision near Washington D.C.

Airline workers, airport staff, and others came together at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Monday – as an emotional message was broadcast from the air traffic control tower:

“To our pilot brothers and sisters, our collective thoughts are with you all. Blue skies and tailwinds, blue streak 5342.”

Channel 9′s Eli Brand was at the airport Monday where many of the people who spoke at the vigil were co-workers and close friends of the Charlotte-based flight crew members who perished last week.

They remembered them fondly and were grateful for their memories. Some of the people at the vigil remembered the victims as kind, courteous, and respectful.

The vigil itself took place at the airport’s overlook as dozens gathered with candles offering up memories.

Captain Jonathan Campos, First Officer Samuel Lilley, and attendants Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder were some of the victims in the crash from Charlotte.

ALSO READ: Comforting, entertaining, and special: Former passengers pay tribute to Ian Epstein

Part of the remembrance featured a special message from the air traffic control tower followed by employees remembering their friends: “We want to acknowledge the candlelight vigil currently taking place at the Charlotte Douglas Overlook, our sincere condolences are with family and friends.”

“I was supposed to be part of the next crew that was taking it out originally. This is just really hard, I think all of us fear, like have this feeling it could have been us,” one co-worker said.

“They are now our angels, our flight angels, they are also now our ancestors, who will be watching over us,” another colleague said.

Later on Monday, Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail is expected to hold a moment of silence at 3:35 p.m. for those lost in the figure skating community. Organizers said anyone is welcome, adding that you can bring flowers, a battery-operated candle, or just yourself.

WATCH BELOW: Wendy Shaffer, a mother of two young children, was a passenger onboard the flight