A 2014 graduate of Ponte Vedra High School has been identified as one of the victims killed in Wednesday’s plane crash near Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C.
Melissa Nicandri, 28, who lived in Brooklyn and was an analyst at Moody’s Ratings, was one of 67 passengers who perished in the tragic accident over the Potomac River.
Her parents — Peter and Stacie Nicandri of Ponte Vedra Beach — released a statement mourning her passing.
“We are devastated by the sudden loss of Melissa,” they said. “She was everything that anyone could hope for with a daughter – beautiful, smart, funny, kind, and generous. Her future was so bright. Melissa had an adventurous spirit and will be missed forever.”
The American Airlines jet she was on had departed from Wichita and crashed into a Blackhawk Army helicopter while descending into Reagan National Airport.
Her father told WJXT that he and his wife were with their daughter in New York just last weekend and that she told them she was planning a trip to Kansas.
Nicandri’s boyfriend called them after the crash and told them she was a passenger on the plane.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Nicandri was a standout at Ponte Vedra High School, serving as secretary of the school’s National Honor Society program as well as yearbook editor.
She received a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in 2018 and a master’s from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 2022.
Before joining Moody’s, Nicandri was an analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, Va.
“She was a great sister,” her father told WJXT. “She was a great friend. She worked hard and had so much ahead of her.”
