Local figure skaters and coaches among victims of air crash
(AP/WPRI) — The victims of a crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter included teen figure skaters from the Skating Club of Boston returning from a national meet with their mothers and coaches.
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.
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 were both 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.'
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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.
Layla Aneppo, a friend who met Spencer at Thayer Ice Arena in Warwick, told 12 News she didn't want to think the news was real.
'He'd always text me asking about ice times, and I'd get so excited,' Aneppo said. 'Like, 'Yay, I get to see you!'' Her voice broke as she realized she won't ever get a text like that again.
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.
Casey reported from Boston and Geller reported from New York. Associated Press journalists Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; Christine Fernando in Chicago; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Nicholas Ingram in Wichita; Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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