‘We just saw them’: Detroit area figure skaters mourn after DC crash

Detroit-area figure skaters are expressing their sorrow over the 67 fatalities from the mid-air crash in Washington, DC.

• • 
    A small American Airlines plane collided with an Army helicopter before crashing into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
    
  • 
    The plane was carrying 60 passengers, many from the U.S. Figure Skating team, returning from the U.S. championships in Wichita, Kansas.
    
  • 
    Detroit area figure skaters talked with FOX on Thursday after spending time with the skaters just days ago.
    

• 
  A small American Airlines plane collided with an Army helicopter before crashing into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
  
• 
  The plane was carrying 60 passengers, many from the U.S. Figure Skating team, returning from the U.S. championships in Wichita, Kansas.
  
• 
  Detroit area figure skaters talked with FOX on Thursday after spending time with the skaters just days ago.
  

On Wednesday night, an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided, killing three US military personnel, 60 passengers, and four crew members.

The plane was coming in for a landing when the tragedy occurred at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Debris from the collision washed into the Potomac River.

After the national U.S. Figure Skating Championships, several of the passengers were on their way back from a development camp.

Emilea Zingas said she just got back to Detroit on Sunday after spending a few days in Wichita.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – JANUARY 30: On January 30, 2025, an American Airlines aircraft crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. Emergency reaction teams search the disaster site on the Potomac River. The American

“Just to see some of those precious lives lost is really devastating,” Zingas stated. “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:

In a statement, U.S. Figure Skating expressed their devastation:

According to U.S. Figure Skating, a number of our skating community members were tragically on board American Airlines Flight 5342 when it crashed into a helicopter in Washington, D.C., yesterday evening. After attending the National Development Camp in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, these competitors, coaches, and family members were heading back home.

“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 stated.

According to the skater, it’s an opportunity for young athletes to practice with some of the nation’s top coaches.

“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 stated.

Tragic events have happened in the figure skating community before. The entire team perished in an aircraft disaster in Belgium in 1961 while traveling to Prague for the World Championships.

“One of my instructors was supposed to be on that plane and she missed the plane,” Connie Folk, manager of Birmingham Ice Arena, stated.

Folk began skating when she was sixteen years old, and she even got married on the ice. Figure skating is family, she remarked.

“We are a very tight-knit group,” Folk stated. “You just sort of wrap your arms around each other.”

This tragedy will have a lasting impact on Zingas and Folk.

“My heart goes out to them and I know everyone in this facility is wishing the families love,” Folk continued.

“We’ll hold each other close and we’ll be strong for each other,” Zingas stated. “I think that this will weigh heavily on the skating community for many years.”

The Source: Zingas and Folk were interviewed by Amy Lange of FOX 2 on Thursday. This story also included information from FOX’s LiveNOW and the Associated Press.