On Tuesday, January 29, tragedy struck when American Airlines Flight 5342, carrying 64 passengers, collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Among those lost were 14 members of the U.S. figure skating team. To honor them and the legacy they left on the sport, we gathered some information on the victims and found ways that you can help their loved ones. Keep scrolling for more.
U.S. skating community mourns the plane crash victims
The crash claimed the lives of 14 individuals connected to the U.S. figure skating team, including young athletes, coaches and parents. Six of the victims were from Boston, according to The Skating Club of Boston.”
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our,” The U.S. team said in an Instagram statement. “Several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.”
“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,” the statement continued. “We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”
Also with the U.S. team were two former Russian world champions and spouses, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who helped coach some of the late Boston athletes.
“Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” The Skating Club of Boston said in a statement. “Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together six to seven days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.”
“These athletes, coaches and parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita [Kansas]. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the most promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The Club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp.”
As of publication, it remains unclear why or how exactly the aircraft collided and if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Reagan Airport knew how close they were to one another.
Plane crash victim Spencer Lane’s last social media post
Among those lost was 16-year-old Spencer Lane, a Boston-based skater, who shared a final Instagram post from inside the plane just before takeoff.
He captioned it “ICT -> DCA,” referencing where the team was coming from—the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport—and where they were headed— the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Prior to that, Lane also posted about how “happy” he was “to have qualified for national development camp earlier in November. It has been my goal almost ever since I became aware that it was a thing. I learned so much new information that I can apply to my everyday life, and met so many amazing people!”
“Thank you, @usfigureskating and the local organizing committee, for making everything happen, and lastly, a huge thank you to all the amazing friends, coaches, and faculty that I have met over the last week; it was such an amazing experience.”
Lane was 16 years old, and it remains unclear if any of his family members were aboard as well.
How to help families of the plane crash victims
No GoFundMe pages fundraising for victims or their families have yet been verified by the platform. The crowdfunding platform recommends checking pages carefully before proceeding with your donation.
The city of Wichita, Kansas, also encourages people to call American Airlines toll-free number 800-679-8215 if they believe they know someone aboard flight 5342.
This is an ongoing story. Check back here for updates.
