Radford University Eminent Professor of Anthropological Sciences Donna Boyd was deployed by the U.S. National Disaster Medical System, Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) to assist with the recent aircraft collision emergency response in Washington, D.C.
The incident occurred on Jan. 29 when American Airlines Flight 5342 struck mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. The collision killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.
DMORT, which comprises trained subject matter experts like Boyd who volunteer their expertise to assist with mass fatality incident management, was deployed at the request of the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) to aid local responders.
Boyd, the director of Radford University’s Forensic Science Institute (RUFSI), joined the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (DC OCME) to assist in the four-day mission to recover and identify victims of the crash. She served as a forensic anthropologist both at the DC OCME and at the recovery site along the Potomac shore.
Boyd has been affiliated with DMORT Region III, which covers the Mid-Atlantic states, since 2007. Her most notable prior deployment by the U. S. government was a two-week mission to recover and identify victims after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Although Boyd has responded to numerous airline crashes and other mass fatality incidents as a consultant for the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner through the RUFSI, including the recent Cessna Citation jet crash in Amherst County in 2023, she said that the most recent response “proved especially difficult and challenging given the complexity of the recovery.”
Boyd said the team, composed of representatives from DMORT, D.C. Fire and EMS; Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police; the FBI; the U. S. Military; the NTSB; and many other cooperating agencies, “worked hard to collaboratively perform their mission professionally, effectively and with the utmost compassion.
“My heart goes out to the victims’ families,” Boyd said while expressing gratitude “for the opportunity to serve in this capacity.”
Radford University President Bret Danilowicz expressed gratitude for Boyd’s extraordinary service. “In a moment of immense sorrow and urgency, Dr. Boyd stepped forward without hesitation to bring clarity, dignity and closure to grieving families.
“Her expertise and compassion have provided an immeasurable service not only to those awaiting news of their loved ones but also to our broader community, which has been profoundly affected by this tragedy,” the president continued. “The strength and care she has shown in this role embody the highest ideals of our university and the values we hold dear.”
Steven Bachrach, dean of Radford’s Artis College of Science and Technology, said, “Dr. Boyd’s participation in the DCA crash recovery demonstrates her professional commitment and the esteem she is held amongst her peers. We in the Artis College of Science and Technology are so proud of her dedicated work and honored to have her as a colleague.”
Boyd has been the recipient of numerous awards honoring her teaching and research, including the Radford University Foundation’s 1998 Donald N. Dedmon Professorial Excellence Award, the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) in 2006 and the United States CASE/Carnegie Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, also in 2006.