On January 29, 2025, around 9:00 pm, tragedy struck when American Airlines flight 5342 collided unexpectedly with an Army helicopter, Black Hawk. Carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, along with the three people on the Army helicopter, the aircraft ultimately ended up in the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport (NBC News). According to the Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly early Thursday morning, at least 28 bodies were recovered from the water. Unfortunately, the remaining passengers are assumed dead (Independent).
Among the 60 passengers aboard flight 5342, 14 were elite figure skaters, coaches, or family members. Several of these elite figure skaters were youth athletes. According to the Skating Club of Boston, these elite athletes had attended the 2025 Prevagen Figure Skating Championships to qualify for the U.S. World Championship and Junior teams. They also participated in the National Development Camp, which exposed the top-performing elite skaters to top teams such as Team USA (NPR).
The figure skating community is very tight-knit, with highly appreciated members. Seeing so many of its skaters face such a tragic incident is undoubtedly difficult for those within the figure skating community and those who enjoy watching or following the intricate sport. Heartbreakingly, this is not the first incident of a tragic plane crash ending in various lives lost for the figure skating community. On February 14th, 1961, 71 passengers lost their lives aboard Boeing 707 in transit to Prague, Czechlogazia. Due to a series of miscommunications between Sabena Flight 548 and airport runways in Brussels, as well as mechanical failure (Gazette).
Unfortunately, aboard Sabena Flight 548 were all 18 US figure skating team members. The tragic deaths of these valued individuals were heartbreaking not only to their immediate friends and family but also to fans from across the country. Various high-achieving athletes such as Laurie and William Hickox, both bronze medalists; Gregory Kelley and Stephanie Westerfield, U.S. championship silver medalists; and Edi Scholdan, head coach of the Broadmoor Skating Club were under much national spotlight and looked upon nationwide. When interviewed by The Wrangler, Abby Reddick (11) shared, “I think both tragedies are devastating, but the fact that so many renowned Olympic medalists were involved in the crash caused many more people to mourn their deaths.”
Whether today, in 2025, or decades ago, in 1961, tragedies as devastating as fatal plane crashes have significant impacts on everyone involved and surrounding members of the community. Madalyn Kientz (11) expressed her sadness over the tragedy: “My heart goes out to everyone affected by the plane crash, and I hope that in the future, we can come up with ways to prevent such tragedies.”
Undeniably, incidents such as the Washington D.C. plane crash and the Sabena Flight 548 crash in 1961 will forever be devastating and grieved; however, The Wrangler sympathizes greatly over this incident and gives its deepest condolences to any family or friends of the crash victims.
