Nancy Kerrigan Openly Weeps Over DC Plane Collision That Killed Figure Skaters

Yahoo

31-01-2025

Olympic silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan says she couldn't just sit at home after learning that several members of the figure skating community had died in the devastating aircraft collision near Washington, D.C., earlier this week.
On Thursday, the figure skating legend decided to speak alongside fellow athletes at a press conference at the Skating Club of Boston — where she is an alumna and some of the late skaters trained.
While speaking to reporters, Kerrigan was clearly heartbroken, as seen in a video shot by CNN.
'I'm unsure how to process it,' a clearly frazzled Kerrigan began while openly weeping.
'Which is why I'm here,' she said, noting she had received requests to do interviews related to the collision. 'I didn't feel like it was right to be home and doing interviews for this.'
She later added, 'We've been through tragedies before as Americans, as people, and we are strong. And I guess it's how we respond to it, and so my response is to be with people I care about and I love, and I needed support. … I think it's a shock.'
Kerrigan acknowledged the collision was disastrous for 'anyone that was on that plane, not just the skaters, because it's just such a tragic event,' but said she felt 'an even bigger blow' when she realized she personally knew some of the people who were killed.
'We just wish them well and the families — the courage and the strength to make the next steps,' she said. 'I don't know how — you look at people who go through tragedies, and you wonder how they do it. I don't know, but we're so strong.'
On Friday, The Associated Press reported that over 40 bodies have been pulled from the Potomac River since a commercial American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter while the plane was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.
President Donald Trump politicized the tragedy Thursday, expressing his opinion just a day after the incident that it was somehow due to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and specifically blaming disabled people who work for the Federal Aviation Administration. But federal investigators told reporters Thursday they would not speculate on the cause, and that air crash investigations can take months to be conclusive.