American Airlines Crash: How U.S. Figure Skating Honored Victims

Yahoo

05-02-2025

Originally appeared on E! Online
U.S. Figure Skating is mourning an unimaginable loss.
After 28 figure skaters, coaches and family members died on American Airlines flight 5342 to Washington, D.C., following a collision with a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River Jan. 29, the sport's national governing body paid tribute to the lives lost.
In a Feb. 3 Instagram video, U.S. Figure Skating shared a glimpse into the athletes, aged 11 to 16, and their families who accompanied them following the National Development Camp in Wichita, Kan. Short clips of the skaters played as their names appeared onscreen, including 11-year-old Angela Yang and Sean Kay performing on the ice and high-fiving each other after. (Angela and Sean's moms Zheheng Li and Yulia Kay were also on board.)
In another clip, 15-year-old Cory Haynos completed a camel spin on the ice and made a heart sign to the camera afterward. (His parents Stephanie Haynos and Roger Haynos were among the victims.) Skating coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shiskova, who wed in 1995, were also highlighted, along with coaches Inna Volyanskaya and Alexandr Kirsanov.
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'Honoring those we tragically lost,' the caption read alongside a black heart emoji. 'Their memory will live on forever.'
As victims' families continue to mourn the heartbreaking collision—which killed all 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet, along with the three passengers on the Black Hawk helicopter—they also reflected on their lives.
Andrew Beyer, whose 12-year-old daughter Brielle and his wife Justyna were on the flight, shared insight into their child's battle with cancer at 4 months old.
'She was just such a fighter in everything she did," he told ABC News. 'She just lived life to the fullest with everything.'
'She was so proud of herself in figure skating for the progress she had made,' he continued. 'Making that team was one of her life goals. And she achieved it. And she was just so, so proud of herself.'
The family of Spencer Lane, 16, whose mother Christine Lane also died onboard, described the aspiring Olympian as a 'force of nature.'
'You simply could not stop him if he decided he wanted to do something,' Spencer's dad Doug Lane said in a statement. 'There is no better example of this than his remarkable skating journey, which we are heartbroken to see end too soon. He truly loved it, and his ascent from basic Learn to Skate classes to U.S. Figure Skating's National Development Team in just a few short years was unprecedented.'
Other figure skating victims included Jinna Han, 13; Jin Han; Everly Livingston, 14; Alydia Livingston, 11; Pete Livingston; Donna Livingston; Franco Aparicio; Luciano Aparicio; Olivia Eve Ter, 12; Oleysa Taylor; Edward Zhou, 16; Joe Zhou; and Kaiyan Zhou.
Keep reading to learn more about the tragic collision.
What Happened to the Passengers on American Airlines Flight 5342?Who Was Onboard American Airlines Flight 5342?Who Was Onboard the U.S. Army Helicopter Involved in the Collision?What Happens Next After Recover Efforts for American Airlines Flight 5342?Who Has Spoken Out After American Airlines Flight 5342 Crashed Into the Potomac River?
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