Kaitlan Collins, a CNN presenter, became upset when interviewing a man whose wife and 12-year-old daughter perished last week in a mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter.
On Monday, February 3, Collins, 32, interviewed Andy Beyer on her program, The Source. They spoke about Beyer’s daughter Brielle and her mother, Justyna, 42, who passed away in a crash when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., on the evening of January 29.
According to police, the corpses of all 67 victims have been discovered after the crash over the Potomac River.
Andy, who was emotional throughout the whole conversation, told Collins, “I go through these moments of extreme sadness and tears and then I get flat and numb.” Then I feel bad that I’m not weeping all the time, you know what I mean? It has been difficult… very difficult.
Brielle was one of many young skaters returning from Wichita, Kansas, with their family members after participating in a well-regarded training camp with U.S. Figure Skating.
Andy said, “They, like all the victims, deserve to be remembered,” when discussing his choice to come out about Brielle and Justyna. They have a right to have the world know their tale.
“Everyone passes, right? And they continue to exist in our memory. Additionally, I want people to remember them so that they may continue to exist in people’s minds. He continued, “That is the reason I wanted to tell their story,” as Collins began to feel emotional as well, wiping her tears and interrupting the conversation for a while.
“Andy, I appreciate you doing that, and I believe everyone would be very moved to hear from you, so I thank you for coming on to discuss that,” she said in response.
While talking about the moment he learned of the disaster, Andy told Collins, “My son and I were supposed to pick them up, just like we always did on these trips.”
He continued, “We were waiting for them in a parking lot close to Reagan [Washington National Airport], and we were texting with them just before they were supposed to land. The tracker said they had landed, the texts changed from blue to green, and firetrucks started going by. At that point, I knew something was wrong.”
Andy immediately phoned someone who was able to establish that the flight that had crashed belonged to Brielle and Justyna.
At that moment, Collins was informed by him that his kid, who was six years old, had just shouted “no!” “It was extremely painful.” That is how we learned about it before anything was really confirmed. He remembered, “We already knew.”
Andy referred to his daughter as “a joy and a gift” in honor of Brielle, who was a member of the Skating Club of Northern Virginia.
He stated, “You never think that something like this could happen to you, and that it could be taken away from you.”
He also said that Brielle was diagnosed with cancer when she was just four months old, describing it as “like waking up to a nightmare.” However, he acknowledged that “at least there was hope” and that they “had this sense of relief” when she was given the all-clear.
Andy told Collins that he and his wife Justyna were “living our dream” with their family. He described Justyna as his “soulmate” and “the most wonderful mother,” and he said, “I’m going to miss her so much.”
“You’re clearly both amazing parents, Andy, and I just want you to know that everyone is praying for you and thinking of you in this moment. Collins replied, “I know that doesn’t help, but everyone is really thinking of you guys.”
As of Wednesday, February 5, a GoFundMe campaign that was established by friends of the family to provide assistance to Andy and his kid has collected about $131,400. According to the website, Brielle and Justyna’s demise is described as a “unimaginable loss.” Justyna is also described as a “devoted mother” who “sacrificed so much for her family, especially to provide for Brielle’s future, as she was highly talented and would have been an Olympic figure skater.”
