A Tuscarawas County man was among the passengers affected by a deadly midair collision Wednesday near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which forced all flights to be halted.
Colton Cottis, 29, a Conotton Valley graduate who currently lives in Uhrichsville, was on the runway at Reagan National Airport aboard an American Airlines flight waiting for takeoff when a regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair. The tragic accident claimed the lives of all 67 individuals aboard both aircraft, leading to an immediate suspension of operations at the airport.
Cottis’ was returning back to Ohio from a work trip. His flight was originally scheduled to depart at 8:35 p.m. on Wednesday on a layover from Atlanta to Canton/Akron Airport, but he and other passengers soon noticed irregular activity on the runway.
“I was watching planes perform touch-and-go landings, which I thought was odd, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary at first,” Cottis said. “Then, we saw local fire and EMS start rushing in, and we knew something serious had happened.”
Despite the severity of the situation, Cottis and his fellow passengers were left largely in the dark for nearly two hours before receiving any official updates. He learned about the crash through social media before the airline provided any official information.
“I saw it on Twitter before anyone told us anything,” he said. “That made things even more confusing because we didn’t know exactly what was happening.”
The flight remained on the runway for about two hours before being returned to the gate, with passengers remaining on the airplane until about 11:30 p.m. before being deplaned, at which point passengers were informed that all flights for the night were canceled.
“There were no updates for a while, and eventually, they just told us we weren’t going anywhere,” Cottis said.
Faced with the uncertainty of rescheduling, Cottis decided to rent a car and drive home, an ordeal that came with its own challenges. Due to road closures related to the crash, his journey was further delayed.
“I spent hours just trying to find a rental car and a hotel for the night,” he said. “[Thursday] morning, I finally found a car at an Enterprise attached to a hotel and was able to start heading home.”
Despite the unsettling experience, Cottis said the incident has not deterred him from flying in the future, emphasizing his confidence in air travel safety and viewing the event as an extremely rare occurrence.
“It was definitely surreal,” he said. “It makes you think about how unpredictable life is and reminds you to appreciate the people you care about. But at the end of the day, it was a freak accident, and I’m not going to let it keep me from traveling.”
