North Texas figure skaters devastated by DC plane crash: ‘It can all be gone in a second’
The American Airlines commuter jet collision with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people on Wednesday has sent shock waves of grief across the country.
Including in Euless.
The crash killed more than a dozen members to the ice skating community including young athletes, their parents and coaches who were on their way home from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Condolences have poured in from the skating community around the country, including from former Olympic figure skating coach Peter Cain, who is based at the StarCenter in Euless.
The loss evokes memories of the 1961 plane crash that killed 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team, and 73 people in total, on their way to the world figure skating championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
“Those kids are going be missed badly,” Cain said, “not just by their families, but in the skating community as well. But obviously, their families are going miss them terribly.
“It’s not just the skating club of Boston, it’s the Philadelphia club, Delaware, one of the clubs in Virginia. It’s multiple skating clubs that are affected, so it’s tough, it’s really hard.”
Cain’s daughter, Ashley, was a U.S. national champion figure skater and worked with several of the kids who attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
She posted about the tragedy on her Instagram page, memorializing several victims including 16-year-old figure skater Spencer Lane from Rhode Island, who died with his mother, Christine Lane. .
“I will cherish this video for forever. I wanted to share this to show a beautiful moment we had with Eddie Zhou and Franco Aparicio at camp. They are #37 and #23. At the end of a very long day for these kids we had the opportunity to do an interpretive class. They gave us so much energy and passion which in return gave us so much excitement, joy and energy as you can see. Spencer Lane was in this class and I remember thinking of how much my cheeks hurt from how much he was making me laugh. He would stand next to me and make the funniest jokes, his comedic timing was unmatched. The time I had with them was a blessing and I will take everything that they have given me and taught me into everything I do.”
Cain spoke about the tight-knit skating community and remembered some of the parents from developmental camps they had attended together. He also shared memories of Olympians and world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
“We knew Vadim and Evgenia quite well. They also coached their son, Max Naumov, and so they had asked us for advice on how to coach your own child because, obviously, with Ashley, we went through (that experience),” Cain said. “They worked with us on advice on how to conduct their day around coaching their son and then family life, what to do, you know, simple things like what happens if you have a tough day and all that kind of stuff, how to handle things when you’re at home, and just general advice. So we kind of bonded with that.”
Cain talked about the tragedy at the Euless skating rink on Thursday as some of the kids he coached knew those who had perished.
“I was saying to Ashley today, I’m sure the energy on that plane last night was pretty high,” Cain said. “It just shows you just how fragile everything is, it can all be gone in a second, right? ... So I think that’s what everyone’s talking about today, just how quickly things can change.”
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 11:55 AM.
