American Eagle Flight 5342 had 60 passengers and four crew members aboard as the plane collided with an Army helicopter carrying three crew members, a crash with no survivors just outside Reagan National Airport whose horror reverberated across the country.
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.
