Two New York business travelers killed in Wichita flight crash were ‘cherished colleagues‘
Two New York City-based business travelers were among the 64 passengers killed on American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night.
Chris Collins and Melissa Nicandri had traveled to Kansas for Moody’s Ratings, a New York City-based financial services company.
The company issued a statement confirming their deaths on Friday.
“The Moody’s family mourns the loss of two of our best, Chris Collins and Melissa Nicandri, who tragically lost their lives on American Airlines Flight 5342,” according to the statement. “Chris and Melissa were cherished colleagues who embodied our values and enriched our lives with kindness and warmth.”
The crash occurred when an ascending military Black Hawk helicopter, collided midair with an American Airlines passenger jet that was descending into Reagan Washington National Airport, arriving from Wichita, above the Potomac River.
Authorities said there were no survivors.
Both Collins and Nicandri were analysts on Moody’s Public, Project and Infrastructure Finance team covering higher education institutions, the company said.
Collins, 42, joined the company 11 years ago and had worked as a Vice President Senior Analyst.
In a statement, Collins’ family recalled his “lifelong love” for animals and the outdoors. As a Dighton, Mass. native, Collins loved camping, rafting, skiing, and enjoying the scenery of Massachusetts and Cape Cod, The Taunton Daily Gazette reported.
“Chris’ kindness and compassion extended to everyone, whether you were a family member, friend or one of the many strangers he connected with,” his family said. “He will be in our hearts forever.”
‘She was beautiful. Smart. Generous’
Melissa Nicandri, 28, was an analyst for Moody’s Ratings and had been with the company for about two-and-a-half years, according to the statement. Her father, Peter Nicandri, told News4JAX in Jacksonville, Florida, that he and his wife had seen his daughter over the weekend in New York City, where she had told him about her business trip to Kansas.
“She’s just anything that anyone would want in a daughter,” Nicandri said. “She was beautiful. Smart. Kind. Generous. Funny. She was a great sister. She was a great friend. She worked hard and had so much ahead of her.”
News4Jax reported that Nicandri heard of his daughter’s death from her boyfriend, who told him the 28-year-old had been on Flight 5342.
“They’ve already given us a timeline of the investigation so we will be monitoring, but it seems pretty obvious what happened, so we will see what the results are, but whatever the results are, it’s not going to change the fact that our daughter is gone,” Nicandri said.
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 3:51 PM.