Andy Beyer hosts a 13th-birthday celebration for his daughter Brielle, who died in the Washington, D.C. plane crash that killed 67 people nearly a year ago.
At a Glance
- Andy Beyer, 45, held a birthday party for Brielle on January 18, 2026.
- The event included a 15-second moment of silence, 13 balloons, and a candle on a marble cake.
- Beyer describes the day as “very hard” and highlights his son Kallen’s struggle with grief.
- Why it matters: The family’s public remembrance underscores how the tragedy continues to shape their daily lives.
A birthday in the shadow of loss
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On January 18, 2026, about 30 friends gathered at Beyer’s Virginia home. The party took place in Brielle’s bedroom, which still features a Taylor Swift poster. Beyer lit a candle on a marble cake with whipped-cream frosting, then led a 15-second moment of silence for the 12-year-old figure skater who died in the same mid-air collision.
Beyer said the day felt “very hard” and “tearful,” adding that his 7-year-old son watched him cry.
> “It was really tearful, a lot of memories. My son saw me cry and that’s good for him, but it’s also hard for him. It’s overwhelming to him. He’s traumatized, too,” said Beyer.
Rituals of memory
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Beyer keeps Brielle’s presence close by:
- Every night, after bedtime stories, he and Kallen spend five minutes watching videos and looking at photos of Brielle and her mother, Justyna.
- Daily, he posts photos or videos on Instagram in their memory.
- On the anniversary, he plans to bring Kallen to a DAR Constitution Hall event and will ride a boat to the crash site alone.
Beyer explained that these actions help keep the family’s bond alive:
> “That’s part of my way of having them be remembered. They mattered- to me and Kallen especially. They were people that you wanted to be around. They brought joy to other people’s lives,” he said.
Living with trauma
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In the months after the crash, Beyer was in “survival mode” and slept in the bottom bunk of Kallen’s bunk bed, a habit he adopted from his wife’s nightly snuggle routine.
He described planning the funeral as the second hardest day of his life:
> “It was such a long day. It was so hard to see Kallen go through it. Watching your family be put into the ground is one of the worst things,” he said.
Beyer notes that Kallen struggles with focus and intense emotions at school, which he attributes to the trauma.
> “People say kids are resilient, but that’s not really the case. Kids are traumatized, and resilience is earned through pain and difficulty. It’s tough to see him struggle,” he said.
The family’s celebration of life mirrored what Justyna would have planned. Beyer organized an open-mic where friends and family shared stories, then took Kallen shopping. He let the boy fill a Walmart cart with toys until they were overflowing.
Looking ahead
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Beyer reflects on the new normal:
> “It’s hard to put into words the profound sadness that this is our new life, that it’s been a year without them. Me and Kallen miss them terribly. They were wonderful. We were living this dream family life,” he said.
He added that even joyful moments now carry a bittersweet tone:
> “After this kind of loss, you can never experience joy in the same way that you did before. Think of Christmas morning when your family is full and complete – that’s about as pure joy as you can get, right? And it’ll never be that again. It’ll always be joy mixed with ache, with longing, with remembering who should also be here,” he said.
Key Takeaways
- The Beyer family’s public remembrance highlights how the crash’s impact endures.
- Rituals such as nightly photo reviews and social media posts help maintain a sense of connection.
- Both parents and children continue to navigate grief while striving for normalcy.
