The lives lost in the D.C. plane-helicopter crash
Among those presumed dead are competitive figure skaters, many of them children who dreamed of making it to the Olympics and their parents who shuttled them to and from skating events to help make those dreams come true.
There was the renowned former Russian Olympic figure skating duo who coached some of those kids. A flight attendant who embraced his life of travel. The helicopter crew chief who had a smile for everyone, especially his infant son.
The crash happened three days after the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships — the most prestigious annual event on the American figure skating calendar — concluded in Wichita, where the American Airlines flight originated.
'This is a terrible tragedy that will unite those in Washington, D.C., and those in Wichita, Kansas, forever,' Wichita Mayor Lily Wu.
As family members and friends grieve, they also shared memories of the lives they now mourn.
This story will update as more information is available.
Sarah Lee Best with her husband Daniel Solomon. (Daniel Solomon/Daniel Solomon) Sarah Lee Best, 33
Sarah Lee Best was an associate at the Wilkinson Stekloff law firm in the D.C. area.
She was a hard worker, but she always found time for kind gestures, said her husband of almost ten years, Daniel Solomon. One Valentine's Day, she surprised him with an elaborate spread of chocolates, handmade cards, balloons, and candles.
Solomon said they first met at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he teaches classical studies. He said Sarah's love of classics is what brought them together. For their 10th anniversary, which would have come on Feb. 21, the pair had planned to finally take their honeymoon this May in Hawaii — where Sarah was born.
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Kiah Duggins, 30
From Washington
Kiah Duggins had been visiting her hometown of Wichita out of her devotion to her family, they told KMUW 89.1, NPR's Wichita affiliate. The 30-year-old civil rights attorney wanted to be with her mother during a surgical procedure.
On Wednesday she was headed back to D.C., where she worked as an attorney for Civil Rights Corps, a nonprofit 'dedicated to challenging systemic injustice in the United States' legal system,' according to its website. Harriet's Wildest Dreams, a D.C.-founded, Black-led mutual aid and community defense organization, shared a post on Instagram in dedication to Duggins and her work with their organization.
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(Family photo) Ian Epstein, 53
From Charlotte
Ian Epstein was one of the flight attendants working aboard American Eagle Flight 5342, according to family members who also described him as a father, stepfather, husband and brother who was 'full of life.'
'He loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people,' his sister and former wife wrote in text messages on behalf of the family.
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Jinna Han, 13 and Jin Han, 49
From the Boston area
Jinna Han was an only child who had been skating since she was 4 years old, said Olga Ganicheva, a figure skating coach at the Skating Club of Boston.
Ganicheva said she had worked for years with Jinna, who was on the plane with her mother, Jin Han.
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Liz Keys with her dog Tucker on Christmas Day. (Family photo) Liz Keys, 33
From D.C., grew up in Madeira, Ohio
Liz Keys was an attorney with a sharp sense of humor who played the saxophone, the oboe and the bassoon. She walked on to the sailing team at Tufts University, and lived in D.C. with a 10-pound rescue Yorkie named Tucker and her life partner, David Seidman, whom she met at Georgetown Law School.
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Christine Conrad Lane, left, and her son Spencer Lane. (Family photo) Spencer Lane, 16, and Christine Conrad Lane, 49
From Rhode Island
Christine Conrad Lane and her son Spencer had been chasing his figure skating dreams at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships alongside aspiring young skaters from the Skating Club of Boston. His eyes were set on the Olympics.
Lane's father described Christine as bright, energetic and creative. She had been a freelance graphic designer and had just gotten her real estate license. She and her husband, Doug Lane, helped drive Spencer an hour each way to a Boston rink to support his figure skating, which he practiced four days a week, his grandparents said in a telephone interview.
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Ryan O'Hara was the crew chief on the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with American Eagle Flight 5324. (Family photo) Ryan O'Hara, 28
From Arlington County
Ryan O'Hara, the crew chief on the Black Hawk helicopter that was part of Wednesday's crash, was a 'wonderful kid' who had a smile for everyone and loved being in the Army, his father said. He had just texted his dad earlier on Wednesday about a new assignment that might bring him, his wife and their 1-year-old son back to Georgia later this year.
'He doted on that boy,' Gary O'Hara, Ryan's father said.
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Jesse Pitcher, 30
From Calvert County, Maryland
Jesse Pitcher, who had just spent days on an annual wilderness trip, duck hunting and talking shop with other plumbers, was on his way home to his wife, Kylie.
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Lori Schrock, 56, and Robert 'Bob' Schrock, 58
From Kiowa, Kansas
Ellie Schrock, a junior at Villanova University in Philadelphia, was excited about seeing her parents this week. Robert 'Bob' and Lori Schrock were heading from Wichita to Washington on Wednesday. From there they'd travel on to see her.
She knew their flight number: American Airlines 5342. And then came the late-night news: their plane and a military helicopter had collided minutes before landing.
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Wendy Jo Shaffer, 35
From Charlotte
Wendy Jo Shaffer, of Charlotte, was a wife and mother of two young children.
A family spokesman, reached by phone, declined extended comment but sent a statement via text: 'We are devastated. Words cannot truly express what Wendy Jo meant as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife and most importantly, a mother.'
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Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov shown in a 1995 performance. (Shizuo Kambayashi/AP) Evgenia Shishkova, 52, and Vadim Naumov, 55
Originally from Russia, lived in the United States since 1998
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were married, were renowned former Russian figure skaters who went on to coach young skaters in Boston.
Their son, Maxim Naumov, 23, competed in the men's U.S. Figure Skating Championships competition in Wichita, finishing fourth, and left Kansas on an earlier flight than his parents.
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