ST. LOUIS – One local family is mourning their loss of a loved one who was killed in the plane crash outside into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., Wednesday night.

Asim Raza says his nephew’s wife was onboard the American Airlines flight that struck a helicopter just before landing at Reagan National Airport.

Asara Hussain was from Indiana, but she married St. Louisan Hamaad. They lived in the Washington, D.C., area, where they worked as consultants. She was returning home Wednesday after working on a project in Wichita.

While her family held onto hope last night, they now know first responders are working a recovery mission. They say the plane crash was their worst nightmare.

“My nephew went to the airport, and he was texting back and forth with Asara. She indicated she was landing in about 20 minutes. He responded to it, and she did not return any of his texts, and they were bouncing back,” Raza said. “He looked out…and he started to see police presence and firefighter departments. Nobody was answering any questions. The flight was late in arriving, and it became more and more clear something had gone wrong.”

There were no survivors in the crash.

Raza said that the entire family is now in Washington, D.C., to show support for Hamaad and the family.

“(She was) just a gem of a person and one of the kindest, warm people you could ever meet. (We’re) waiting on information, and at the same time, you’re grieving the loss of a very close family member,” he said. “You’re also filled with a lot of questions…it’s something that happens thousands of times a day—how did this go wrong?”

President Donald Trump has put all government agencies on alert in an effort to find what went wrong and how this accident could have been avoided.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has opened a hotline for any Missourian affected by the crash. To reach out for help, call 202-732-1858.