Kiah Duggins, a 30-year-old civil rights attorney and former Miss Kansas contestant, has been confirmed as one of the victims of the American Airlines crash on Wednesday, January 29.

Per PEOPLE, she was traveling back to Washington, D.C., after visiting Kansas to support her mother through a surgical procedure. Remembered by loved ones as a courageous and compassionate individual, Duggins dedicated her life to the pursuit of justice, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and advocacy.

According to her profile on the Civil Rights Corps website, Duggins was a graduate of Wichita East High School and Wichita State University before earning her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she served as president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.

In her role, Duggins litigated cases in support of social justice movements, challenging unconstitutional policing and money bail practices in Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, D.C. She had also worked with the ACLU of Northern California, where she focused on addressing police misconduct and other injustices within the criminal legal system.

Following the tragic news, many of her friends shared heartfelt tributes online, including Anna Bower, who honored her memory on Blue Sky.

 

I’m sad to learn that my law school classmate, Kiah Duggins, died in the DC plane crash last night.

Kiah was an exceptionally talented civil rights lawyer and aspiring legal scholar.

I hope you’ll read about her work and the causes she cared about, some of which I’ll 🧵 below.

What an immense loss[image or embed]

— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 11:12 PM

Duggins was also remembered as a Pageant queen in a Facebook tribute post.

 

Sixty-seven people lost their lives after a regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, marking the nation’s first major commercial airline disaster since 2009, according to ABC News. The aircraft plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River, shattering into multiple pieces.

Officials reported that the flight, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, was nearing its destination at Reagan National Airport when the collision occurred. Tragically, there were no survivors. The plane carried 64 passengers, while the helicopter had three Army soldiers on board.