Some victims in the recent Washington, D.C., crash include figure skating sisters. The pair competed in the latest championships in Wichita and were flying home when the incident occurred.
According to reports, multiple sources have confirmed that Peter Livingston, his wife, Donna Smojice Livingston—a former Central Pennsylvania native—and their figure skating daughters were among the passengers who died in the recent American Airlines plane crash.
The couple’s two daughters, Alydia, 11, and Everly, 14, along with the crew and other passengers of Flight 5342, did not survive. The siblings’ last social media post featured them posing together at their recent event on January 24.
The post, which included numerous hashtags, read, “If you look closely at Alydia’s badge… We were born ready for this but is @usfigureskating ready for this much Livingston at Nationals?”
On the evening of Wednesday, January 29, an American Airlines plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 jet struck a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter in mid-air.
The accident occurred at approximately 9 p.m. local time while the aircraft approached the runway at Reagan Washington National Airport. Among the 64 victims were US Figure Skating athletes, coaches, and family members.
At the time of the crash, the group was returning home from the previous week’s US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. Some victims had participated in the championships held in conjunction with the National Development Camp.
By Thursday, 28 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. No survivors were expected, as emergency personnel transitioned from a rescue to a recovery mission.
The names of victims identified as members, coaches, and family of the US Figure Skating Team include the following, beginning with the Boston Skating Club (SC) athletes: Spencer Lane and his mother, Christine, as well as Jinna Han and her mother, Jin Han.
Boston SC coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also among those lost. Northern Virginia athletes Eddie Zhou, Brielle Beyer and her mother, Justyna Magdalena, and Cory Haynos also perished. Everly and Alydia were members of the Washington Figure Skating Club (FSC).
Another Washington FSC athlete who died was Franco Aparicio, while coach Inna Volyanskaya also lost her life. Additionally, the University of Delaware FSC lost athletes Sean Kay and Angela Yang, along with coach Alexandr Kirsanov.
On the same day as the crash, US Figure Skating released a statement on Instagram, noting in part, “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
The FAA is collaborating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the investigation, with the NTSB leading the inquiry.
