'We just saw them': Detroit area figure skaters mourn after DC crash
Detroit area figure skaters mourn victims in DC crash
Figure skaters from the Detroit area are mourning the 67 people killed in the mid-air collision in Washington DC.
An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger jet Wednesday night, killing 60 passengers and four crew members on board and three members of the U.S. military.
The crash happened at Ronald Reagan National Airport as the plan was coming in for landing. The crash littered the Potomac River with debris.
Some of the passengers were figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp held after the national U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Emilea Zingas was in Wichita just a few days ago and said she just returned home to Detroit on Sunday.
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ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JANUARY 30: Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The Americ
"Just to see some of those precious lives lost is really devastating," Zingas said. "We just saw them and hugged them two days ago so it's a difficult thing to process - I think a lot of people in the skating community are still in shock."
What they're saying:
U.S. Figure Skating released a statement saying they are devastated:
U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C. These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas
"The fact that these athletes that were lost were so young and had so much potential is also just heartbreaking - I mean this is the future of U.S. figure skating," Zingas said.
The skater says it's a chance for young athletes to train with some of the best coaches in the country.
"Knowing that those kids came off of something that was such a high and are not able to return to their families is just horrible," Zingas said.
This isn't the first time tragedy has struck the figure skating world. In 1961, a plane crashed in Belgium that claimed the entire team on its way to the World Championships in Prague.
"One of my instructors was supposed to be on that plane and she missed the plane," said Birmingham Ice Arena manager Connie Folk.
Folk started skating at 16 and even married her husband on the ice. She said figure skating is family.
"We are a very tight-knit group," Folk said. "You just sort of wrap your arms around each other."
The effects of this tragedy will last for Folk and Zingas.
"My heart goes out to them and I know everyone in this facility is wishing the families love," Folk said.
"We'll hold each other close and we'll be strong for each other," Zingas said. "I think that this will weigh heavily on the skating community for many years."
The Source: FOX 2's Amy Lange spoke with Zingas and Folk on Thursday. Information from the Associated Press and LiveNOW from FOX was also used in this story.