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.

Howard University law professor Kiah Duggins has been identified as one of the victims of the devastating plane collision near Reagan National Airport, university officials confirmed Thursday night.

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.

Howard University president comments on incoming professor killed in DC plane crash that occurred earlier this week.