In the immediate aftermath of the D.C. plane crash — before officials had confirmed that all 67 people on American Airlines flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter had died — one of the first heartbreaking stories to emerge was from Hamaad Raza, whose wife sent him a final text just 20 minutes before she was scheduled to land. One year later, Raza, 26, is opening up to PEOPLE about their final moments — and how he’s thrown himself into advocacy work to try and prevent a similar tragedy. Throughout the flight from Wichita, Kan., to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29, 2025, Raza says his wife, Asra Hussain, a 26-year-old healthcare consultant, texted him continuously.