Emotions ran high at The Skating Club of Boston on Thursday after six individuals connected to the organization tragically lost their lives in a plane crash near Reagan International Airport on Wednesday night.
Among those expressing their grief was Olympic silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan, who was visibly emotional while discussing the incident.
President Donald Trump confirmed that there were no survivors following the collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.
The ill-fated flight was carrying 64 passengers, including teenage skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, their mothers Jin Han and Christine Lane, and their coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
Three members of The Skating Club of Boston—Misha Mitrofanov, Jimmy Ma, and Alisa Efimova—spoke about their peers, whom they described as the next generation of hopeful U.S. Olympians.
Mitrofanov, whose partner is Efimova, remarked, “The potential that they showed on the ice and the capabilities they had at such a young age showed that they had promise for the future of this sport.”
Mitrofanov and Efimova had recently clinched victory at the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, from where the American Airlines flight originated. Han and Lane were returning from a developmental camp held over the weekend.
OLYMPIC GREAT NANCY KERRIGAN FIGHTS THROUGH TEARS AS SHE TALKS ABOUT VICTIMS IN TRAGIC PLANE CRASH
“The camp basically brings them in for the championships so that they can watch, for example, Jimmy, or at least an ice skate at a championship level,” Mitrofanov explained. “Afterwards, they are part of a fairly strict routine… a lot of training, lots of drills and exercises that U.S. Figure Skating wants to see.”
At just 13 and 16 years old, Han and Lane were selected for the developmental camp due to their exceptional talent. Ma emphasized their remarkable abilities, stating, “Absolutely phenomenal. If I was their age back when I was their age, they would blow me out of the water. Even Jinna, at 13 years old, I couldn’t do anything. She was already 10 times better than me at such a young age.”
Ma continued, “They showed championship-level skating. It would take time for them to develop to maximize their full potential. But the amount they were able to achieve in such a short amount of time was absolutely remarkable.”
Efimova noted that the campers were easily identifiable in their red jackets during competitions, which provided her with motivation as she and Mitrofanov competed in pairs. “They all have these red jackets, so you can really, really identify this community during the competition, which helps me personally a lot to bring a lot of joy into skating,” she said.
Ma also highlighted the exceptional coaching of Shishkova and Naumov, both of whom were champions in their own right. “Their meticulousness in developing young skaters is almost unparalleled,” Ma explained. “You could tell by their son, Max, who I consider not just a friend, but a fierce competitor. I look at him every day, I’m like, ‘Damn, I got to do better.’ That was all them.”
The tragedy affected more than just The Skating Club of Boston; the Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society also reported that “beloved members” of its team were on the flight. Skating coach Alexandr Kirsanov and two of his youth skaters were confirmed to be aboard the flight, according to Kirsanov’s wife, as reported by ABC News.
“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.,” U.S. Figure Skating stated. “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
As the figure skating community and others affected by this tragic event mourn the loss of their loved ones, Mitrofanov expressed that skaters will continue to train and compete with their fallen “family” in mind. “Watching these kids skate and watching their fire and love for the sport, that’s what helped us to, honestly, continue training,” he said. “Watching these kids develop helps us want to push ourselves as well. It’s a two-way street that they look up to us, but we also look up to them.”