DC aircraft crash 100 days later: My family needs answers

Since then the simple question of “How are you?” has accepted a completely new meaning. Before the crash, it was small talk. Now people want to know the real answer. And on most days the answer is complicated.

My 12-year-old son Milo and I now live every day of memories of the future we thought we had ourselves in front of us. The unfinished quilt pieces that were held on the wall. The unread edition of the Skating magazine. The e -mail that confirms the vacation plans in June that must now be canceled. The bottle of ketchup sits on the shelf that Christine bought but will never use.

While grief and sadness are omnipresent, I also discovered amazing support and inspiration sources, including the community of families that have also lost relatives that day. What started in the worst week of our life in Bethesda, Md., In a hotel in Bethesda, Md.

Once strangers, we are now a family. We support each other on birthdays, anniversaries and public holidays. The collective talent and the intelligence of this group became a well -organized and relentless striving for answers to what happened on the day of the crash, accountability and, above all, change.

Since we mark the 100-day anniversary of the crash, we are deeply grateful to the leaders and agencies who have worked with us respectfully and constructively. The commitment, compassion and professionalism of the National Transportation Safety Board were a source of great comfort. Members of the congress and transport minister Sean Duffy listened with empathy and reacted with commitment. Their efforts to meet families and maintain communication made sense.

However, friendly words and good intentions are not enough. What happened that day was not an isolated incident. It was the result of avoidable systemic errors that still exist. The risk of future tragedies is still unacceptable, especially at airports such as Reagan National Airport, which still has alarming nearby bonds.

There are two critical areas that require immediate action.

First, there must be an independent security check of the airspace around Reagan Airport. This is one of the most overloaded, complex and restricted air traffic corridors in the country. The airport is located between restricted fly areas and serves a high volume on commercial flights, but is still operated under outdated security protocols. Without a comprehensive external review, the same systemic problems that have contributed to the crash of flight 5342 will continue to threaten the safety of passenger.

Second, our group calls for robust and transparent general investigations by the general inspector both in the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Army. While we have confidence in the ability of the NTSB to examine the technical causes of the crash, the scope does not cover the more comprehensive political decisions that have made it possible for military training to be carried out in one of the most busy civil air spaces in the country. This decision – and negligence or the lack of supervision that it allows – must be checked thoroughly and publicly.

Our goal is prevention. We don't want other families to endure what we have experienced. If the nation does not confront the major problems in connection with this crash – if we do not demand a safer aviation system – then life on flight 5342 will be unsuccessful.

Milo and I feel the absence of Christine and Spencer every day. Honoring your memory means more than your loss. It means fighting for meaningful changes, demanding the accountability and ensuring that nobody otherwise has to suffer from a tragedy that could be prevented.

We do not ask for wonder. We ask for responsibility, transparency and measures.

The families of flight 5342 – and every flight traveler in this country – do not earn anything less.