Triangle figure skating community mourns those killed American Airlines jet, Black Hawk collision

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Tuesday, February 4, 2025 4:37AM
Triangle figure skating community remembers skaters, coaches killed
U.S. figure skating athletes, coaches, parents and children were on the American Airlines flight when it collided with an Army Black Hawk.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- On Monday, the Triangle's figure skating community mourned the lives lost in last week's deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C. with five-minutes of silence on the ice at Invisalign Arena. It was part of a nationwide vigil observed by skaters and coaches.

On American Airlines flight 5342 there were U.S. figure skating athletes, coaches and parents, including several kids.

"It's been a shock, honestly. I still feel numb. I still feel like tomorrow I'm going to wake up and realize there they're still here with us," said Krystal Edwards, a competitive skater and coach in Raleigh.

Krystal personally knew several skaters on board the flight, who were traveling home following a national development camp in Wichita, and was one of the skaters who participated in Monday's silence on the ice in Morrisville. For skating coach Jason Long, it's the place that's brought him solace since the tragedy.

"I just took a few minutes to skate around, and for me, that made me feel better. It kind of made me feel more connected to my friends that I lost," Wong said.

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Wong was in Wichita for that development camp, arriving home just hours after standing side by side with people killed in the crash.

"When I realized what happened, I just collapsed for a good 15 minutes. I just sat there. I couldn't move," he said.

Six members of the skating group on board were from Jason's original home club in Boston, and he knew every skater and coach on board -- including a close friendship with renowned skater-turned-coach Inna Volyanskaya.

"I know I'm going to be feeling it when I'm at the next event and I don't see her," he said Monday.

Elena Betchke is a coach in the Triangle and former Olympic medalist who grew up skating with Inna and was longtime friends with fellow Russian skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were also aboard the flight.

"I know Inna forever, we used to compete against each other when I was in my teens. And she was just an amazing, beautiful girl," she said.

Betchke said it's been a gut-wrenching week, but few moments have been more difficult than having to console her skaters during Monday's vigil -- many of whom feel a special bond with the crash victims.

"It was unbearable just to stand next to them. And I couldn't wait to give them a hug and just say, 'it's OK. They are in better place now,'" she said.

SEE ALSO | North Carolina native Rebecca Lobach identified as soldier on Army Black Hawk in DC collision

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