Heartbroken Nancy Kerrigan Sheds Tears While Honoring 14 US Figure Skaters Lost In Tragic Plane Crash
on Jan 30, 2025
Nancy Kerrigan, An Olympic Figure Skater, Mourned The Lives Lost On American Airlines Flight 5342
American Airlines Flight 5342, which originated from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying members of the figure skating team home from a national development camp.
Tragically, the plane collided with an Army helicopter, and both the plane and the helicopter went down in the Potomac River. The crash claimed the lives of 64 passengers on the American Airlines flight and 3 on the Army helicopter.
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Nancy Kerrigan Speaks At Skating Club Of Boston
After receiving the heartbreaking news that members of the U.S. figure skating team were on a plane that collided with an army helicopter on the evening of January 29th, resulting in their tragic deaths, Kerrigan spoke to the Skating Club of Boston.
The 55-year-old figure skater was visibly emotional as she remembered the athletes in her community who lost their lives.
“Not sure how to process it,” she said with tears in her eyes, “which is why I’m here.”
Kerrigan noted that the figure skating community is quite small and said:
“Our community is … it’s pretty small. It’s not just here that’s hurting, and I think it’s not just in these specific places. Every rink that has skating has feelings towards this. It’s tragic.“
She shared that among the 14 members of the skating community who perished in the tragic crash were six members associated with the Skating Club of Boston. Which is where she held the press conference and had trained for her own career.
While Kerrigan did not personally work with those on the flight, she mentioned that she had interacted with them over the years.
TThe six individuals associated with the Skating Club of Boston who tragically lost their lives in the plane crash included: Spencer Lane, Jinna Han, their mothers Christine Lane and Jin Han, and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova.
Kerrigan said that the event was tragic for all Americans and everyone on that flight, but took the time to highlight the skating community in a moving statement.
“We’ve been through the same thing — that training, that rigorous schedule of falling over and over and somehow picking yourself back up, which is like the main lesson, I think, learned in skating,” she continued. “You get back up. Keep on trying. And even when it’s hard, you get back up. Even when you’re crying, hurt, in pain, get back up and move forward. Not easy, but that’s what we all have to do now together.”
Watch below.
