Teen skaters, group of hunters and students among victims of air crash

Voice of America

31-01-2025

The victims of a crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter included teen figure skaters returning from a national meet with their mothers and coaches, an Ohio college student coming from her grandfather's funeral, two Chinese nationals and a group of hunters headed back from a guided trip in Kansas.
They were among 60 travelers and four crew members on board the commercial flight late Wednesday when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers. Officials say there were no survivors.
As the search for remains continued Thursday, communities grieved. Faith leaders held a vigil Thursday in the city council chambers. "The only way we will get through this is together," said the Rev. Pamela Hughes Mason of Wichita's St. Paul AME Church.
American Airlines set up a hotline as well as centers in Washington and Wichita for people searching for information about family members who may have been aboard the downed flight.
Here's what we know about some of the people killed in Wednesday night's crash:
From the Skating Club of Boston
Skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were among those killed, according to Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston. Their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane, as well as their coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov also died. Han and Lane, who was about 16, were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
"We watched Jinna just grow up here from just a tiny little tyke into this amazingly mature 13-year-old," he said. "A great performer, a great competitor, and off the ice, a great kid."
Spencer Lane, who was from Barrington, Rhode Island, took part in his first professional show in December with Elin Schran's company, Joy Skate Productions.
"He started to discover this connection with the audience and that joy that he was giving to other people through his gift," Schran said.
In a statement, the Lane family recalled Christine Lane for both her singular talents and her dedication to parenting. "Christine exuded creativity throughout her life, using her formal graphic design training as a jumping-off point for seemingly endless creative pursuits across areas such as photography, quilting, knitting, and more. She brought even greater passion to her role as a mother to Spencer and his brother Milo," the family said.
Their coaches, Shishkova and Naumov, won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships in Chiba, Japan. The Russia-born pair also competed twice in the Olympics.
More young athletes and coaches
Skating organizations in Philadelphia and the Washington area also said some of their young athletes had been aboard the plane.
Several athletes on the flight had attended a development camp held after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships ended Sunday in Wichita, Kansas.
Wichita Skating Center manager Sean O'Reilly said the championships brought a "groundswell of positivity," drawing enthusiastic parents and young athletes from across the U.S. He was "gutted" to learn some of those skaters had been killed.
In Virginia's Loudoun County, a coach at a skating club was also identified as among the passengers, Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam confirmed. The club, Ashburn Ice House, said that its "figure skating community has been directly affected," but did not give further details.
Students
Students and parents at Cedarville University in Ohio said one of the passengers on the plane was Grace Maxwell, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. Maxwell's father, Dean Maxwell, said she was returning to campus from her home in Wichita, Kansas, after attending her grandfather's funeral, The Wichita Eagle reported.
Grace Maxwell had been working on a project this semester to create a hand-stabilizing device to help a boy in the area feed himself instead of relying on others, the university said in a statement.
"Grace was a quiet person with a keen interest in helping others through engineering," said Tim Norman, who served as her secondary adviser.
Three other students from schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, and six parents from the district were also on board the plane, superintendent Michelle Reid said in a letter to families. She did not identify them, but she said the students were from different schools and that two of the parents were current or former district staffers.
Chinese citizens, Philippines police officer
Chinese citizens and a cop from the Philippines Philippine Police Col. Pergentino Malabed Jr., who headed the supply management division of the national police, was among the dead.
He had traveled to the U.S. to inspect equipment the Philippines was planning to purchase for its 232,000-member force, according to the Philippine police.
"His untimely passing is a profound loss to the Philippine National Police, where he served with honor, with integrity and dedication throughout his career," Philippine police said in a statement.
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said two Chinese nationals were also among the victims. It did not offer further details. The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered its condolences for the crash victims and requested the U.S. to "promptly report any progress with the search and rescue and find out the cause of the accident as soon as possible."
Hunters headed home from a trip
Seven people returning from a guided hunting trip in Kansas were killed, according to a Facebook post by Fowl Plains, the guide service.
The Fowl Plains team said they had grown close to the hunters on board the flight over the years and considered them to be family members. The post doesn't identify the hunters by name, but it says they had spent the past week on a guided hunt, "laughing, talking about our families and sharing memories."
"Heartbroken is an understatement," the company said.
Members of a Maryland union
Those killed also included four steamfitters, all members of a United Association union local in suburban Maryland, union leaders said in a social media post Thursday.
"Our focus now is on providing support and care to the families of our brothers as we continue to gather more information in the coming days," said the post by UA General President Mark McManus and Chris Madello, the business manager of Local 602.
From the military
The victims also include three soldiers who were aboard the helicopter. Officials said their remains will be at Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. That office coordinates the dignified transfer of fallen service members. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet announced.
No identities of the crew have been released. But the wife of one of the helicopter pilots said on Facebook that her husband, Andrew Eaves of Noxubee County, Mississippi, was killed.
In a phone call, Carrie Eaves confirmed the post was hers. "We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve," her post read.
The three soldiers were doing an annual night proficiency training flight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding they were a "fairly experienced crew." Officials were notifying relatives, he said.