A Howard University professor and former Miss Kansas contestant known for her “bright smile" and “zest for life" was among the victims in Wednesday’s midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane near Reagan National Airport.

A Howard University Law professor and former Kansas beauty queen was among the 67 people presumed dead after a midair crash ​involving a passenger plane and Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., university officials said.

Kiah Duggins had accomplished much in her 30 years of life. She was former Miss Kansas contestant, a civil rights

Last year, she collaborated in a virtual group with Kiah Duggins, an incoming professor at Howard University who was killed in Wednesday’s plane crash near Washington, D.C. “You see things that kind of strike nationally, you don't realize that there is a connection. So that was, like, the hardest thing for me,” Nnachi said.

A former Miss Kansas contestant and attorney Kiah Duggins has been named as one of the victims of the flight from Wichita, Kan. that crashed into the Potomac on Wednesday night.

Tina Knowles expressed her condolences after Howard University law professor Kiah Duggins was among the victims in the American Airlines crash