Cedarville University student killed in DC plane crash: 'We are confident that Grace is with Jesus'
The president of an Ohio-based Christian college is confident that one of its students who died in last week's air collision between a passenger plane and military helicopter near Washington, D.C. last week is "with Jesus Christ."
In a statement, Cedarville University President Thomas White identified junior Grace Maxwell as one of the victims of the tragedy near Reagan National Airport last Wednesday night, when a U.S. Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight, killing 67 people as both aircraft fell into the Potomac River.
"This is heartbreaking news for her family and for our campus community," he wrote. "Grace was a junior majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering and was anticipating her graduation in 2026."
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"Even though we don't understand why this has happened, we are confident that Grace is with Jesus Christ," he added. "Those of us who believe in Christ will see her again. We grieve, but not as those without hope. In moments like these, we thank God for Jesus and that He will one day make all things news. Even amid the pain, we can trust Him."
During a chapel service Friday, White said Grace was returning from her grandfather's funeral. He sought to empathize with her grieving family, specifically her parents.
"Can you imagine losing a parent and, seven days later, losing a child?" he asked. "It seems wrong because God didn't create this world to be this way. Death came into this world because sin came into this world."
"Right now, Grace is with Jesus, and right now, Jesus is with us," he continued. "And Jesus is what we all hold together and hold dear. She is not alone. She is better off than we are. And friends, one day, we will go to see her again."
White encouraged the campus community to "pray for her parents and her family as they go through this. "
"This is not the end," he said. "One day, the Jesus that we bear in common will wipe away every tear, and He will create a new creation where there will be no more death and no more sadness and no more sorrow, and that's the way it was meant to be."
Additional details about Maxwell are featured on the school's website, which notes that she was planning on using her engineering abilities to help create a "hand-stabilizing device for a young boy with disabilities." She intended to go on a mission trip in the spring for the purpose of "sharing her love of Jesus Christ with others."
During a press conference Thursday providing an update on efforts to locate the victims and determine a cause for the accident, President Donald Trump indicated that he shared the belief of Cedarville University's leadership that those who lost their lives in the plane crash are in a better place.
Trump encouraged the American people to "take solace in the knowledge that their journey ended not in the Cold Waters of the Potomac but in the warm embrace of a loving God." He asked God to "watch over those who have lost their lives and bring comfort to the loved ones."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
