‘He made flying fun,’ says ex-wife of Charlotte flight attendant killed in DC crash
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American Airlines plane crash in Washington
American Airlines flight 5342 from Wichita collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, 2025. Authorities said no one survived, including a Charlotte-based crew. Here is ongoing coverage from The Charlotte Observer.
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When Ian Epstein boarded a plane for his job as a flight attendant, he wanted to make sure passengers had a fun trip. He didn’t want them to be scared.
“He was always the jokester and just doing the announcements with the twist,” said Debi Epstein, Ian’s former wife, in a phone interview. “Everybody loved him — he was a great flight attendant.”
Debi confirmed Ian was one of the crew members who died on American Eagle Flight 5342, which collided with a military helicopter in Washington over the Potomac River Wednesday night, killing 67 people.
Three people in the military chopper died, while 60 passengers and four crew members, some based in Charlotte, died on the PSA Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, to the nation’s capital. PSA is a subsidiary of American Airlines.
Debi and Ian have two children, she said, who are struggling with the loss of their father.
“Our daughter is getting married in eight weeks,” she said. “It’s just a lot.”
She said Ian was an outgoing person and “he died doing what he absolutely loved.”
Observer data reporter Gavin Off contributed to this story.
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 1:35 PM with the headline "‘He made flying fun,’ says ex-wife of Charlotte flight attendant killed in DC crash."
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