Spencer Lane’s father has paid tribute to the figure skater in the wake of his untimely death.
Spencer was one of the 60 passengers onboard an American Airlines plane traveling from Kansas to Washington on Wednesday evening (January 29), when the aircraft collided with a US army helicopter.
Both the plane and helicopter then crashed into the Potomac River, and all those involved are sadly presumed dead.
There were a total of 67 people; 60 passengers, four cabin crew members, and three soldiers.
An American Airlines plane crashed into a river after colliding with a helicopter (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Spencer shared a heartbreaking post to social media before boarding his flight to Washington — which was carrying several other members of the figure skating community, former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov included.
He uploaded a photo to Instagram around 7pm on the tragic day, which the 16-year-old captioned ‘ICT -> DCA’, which are the codes for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
In light of officials saying that there were no survivors of Wednesday’s crash – the US’s first major commercial airline crash since 2009 – Spencer’s father, Douglas Lane, has paid tribute to his presumed dead son.
His wife, Christine Lane, was also on the plane.
Speaking to WPRI, Douglas said of his eldest son: “Whether he was in his home club in Boston, [Spencer] was just loved by everyone.
“From adults running the club to smaller skaters, to the people that are competing for a shot at the Olympics, they all adored him.”
Douglas further penned in a statement to the news outlet: “Spencer can only be described as a force of nature. You simply could not stop him if he decided he wanted to do something.
“There is no better example of this than his remarkable skating journey, which we are heartbroken to see end too soon. He truly loved it, and his ascent from basic Learn to Skate classes to U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Team in just a few short years was unprecedented.
“We are so grateful that his last week was filled with joy and surrounded by his beloved Skating Club of Boston and the U.S. Figure Skating family.”
Spencer was an up-and-coming figure skating star (spence.rlane/Instagram)
Speaking about his late wife Christine as well, Douglas said she ‘exuded creativity throughout her life’.
“She brought even greater passion to her role as a mother to Spencer and his brother Milo,” the grieving husband and father went on.
“She was also a lover of animals, and we lost track of how many dogs she helped place in loving adoptive homes.“
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.
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Topics: American Airlines, News, US News, Sport
An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided last night with an army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington DC.
The crash prompted a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River, with around 300 emergency service workers rushing to the scene.
There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors.
So far, 28 bodies have been recovered from the river that both the chopper and plane crashed into following the collision.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and the army chopper, but all take-offs and landings from the airport were halted as dive teams scoured the site and helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in a methodical search for bodies.
Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and what appeared to be the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage.
Parts of the American Airlines plane are now visible in the Potomac River (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
What was first seen as a rescue mission is now seen as a recovery mission in light of it being presumed that there are no survivors.
“We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said during a sombre news conference on Thursday (January 30).
“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”
Elsewhere, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the wreckage of the American Airlines plane is in three parts.
Around 300 emergency personnel rushed to the crash site last night (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
He said, as per CNN: “The fuselage of the American Airlines plane was inverted. It’s been located in three different sections. It’s in about waist-deep water, so that recovery is going to go on today.”
“As that recovery takes place of the fuselage of the aircraft, NTSB is going to start to analyze that aircraft, partner with the FAA with all the information we have to get the best results possible for the American people,” Duffy added.
Duffy also said that both aircrafts were on ‘standard flightpaths’ before the collision and that it’s ‘not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at DCA’.
Anyone who thinks they may know someone that was onboard Flight 5342 have been urged to call American Airlines toll-free at 800-679-8215.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.
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Topics: American Airlines, Washington, US News, News
Two of the youngest victims of the fatal American Airlines plane crash have been revealed as a talented ice skating duo.
The American Airlines Flight had departed Wichita, Kansas, and was coming in to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter at around 9pm on Wednesday (January 29).
The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members while three boarded the helicopter, both of which plunged into the Potomac River after the crash.
The wreckage of the aircrafts in the river (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
There are no survivors in what is shaping up to be the deadliest US air disaster in more than 20 years.
Now, two young ice dance partners, Angela Yang and Sean Kay, have been confirmed as two of the 67 dead.
The pair, believed to be 11 and 12-years-old, were members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club, and had been returning from the National Development Camp, held from January 20 to 26 in Kansas, to train top juvenile figure skaters.
The young girl said she had ‘lots of fun’ at the training camp (Instagram/@angelayangskates)
According to an obituary posted by a skating group on Facebook, the pair were ‘undefeated in juvenile ice dance this season’.
Footage of the duo’s performances in November has since gone viral online, which shows the pair expertly twirling around to applause.
They went on to win first place in several categories in the 2025 Midwestern Sectional Singles and US Ice Dance, held in Texas.
The skaters at the Texas competition in November (Instagram/@angelayangskates)
A spotlight story posted by the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club on Facebook said Yang started ice skating after being inspired by her siblings playing ice hockey.
UDFSC also said Kay was awarded the first in Excel Juvenile Plus Boys at the 2023 Excel Series Final.
On the day of the crash, Yang has also taken to Instagram to write that she had ‘so so much fun’ at the Wichita camp.
“I’m really gonna miss my friends and all the great coaches! I can’t wait for next year!” she wrote.
Their teacher, 46-year-old Alexandr ‘Sasha’ Kirsanov, was also killed, his widow told Delaware Online.
Natalia Gudin told the news outlet: “We always use American Airlines when we go to competition. This time they go without me, and all of them are gone.
““This young team – Sean Kay and Angela Yang – they were so amazing,” Gudin continued. “All the judges were so proud and they had such a big future. And what, all on the same plane?”
“For me, it’s a triple” loss, Gudin added.
Yang with her dancing partner, Kay (Instagram/angelayangskates)
Kirsanov was a professional ice dancer who had competed for the US, Azerbaijan and Russia, bagging a bronze medal in 2003.
The three are among several members of the sport who were on that fatal flight, as US Figure Skating confirmed dozens of its members had attended the training camp and the figure skating championships that were held in conjunction with the camp.
Among those killed were Boston’s skaters, Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16, as well as their mothers.
Coaches and couple, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, performing in the 1992 Winter Olympics (David Madison/Getty Images)
Lane also posted a heartbreaking final photo to his social media of the plane before it’s takeoff from Kansas.
Ice skating coaches and married couple, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were also on board as their ice skating son, Maxim, reportedly confirmed to Russian media.
The couple had won the World Championships in figure skating together three decades ago in 1994 and had reportedly been living in the US since at least 1998.
There were some concerns Maxim had also been on board but he is said to have left the competition on Monday with another American figure skater, Anton Spiridonov.
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Topics: American Airlines, Washington, US News, Sport, Russia, Viral, Texas, Facebook
Details are beginning to trickle in as we learn more about the horrific air disaster that saw a commercial plane collide with a helicopter.
Authorities fear that more than 60 people have died after an American Airlines plane crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter over Washington DC on January 29.
The incident occurred while Flight 5342 was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, which has halted all take-offs and landings as law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in search of survivors.
The crash resulted in a large search and rescue effort with authorities searching the Potomac River for bodies, as both aircrafts landed in the body of water after the crash.
28 bodies have been recovered from the river so far, however this number is expected to rise.
Rescue efforts have continued into today since the crash occurred (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
One of the people confirmed to have been on the flight was 26-year-old Spencer Lane, who was a member of the US figure skating team.
Ahead of the collision, and before taking off from Wichita Airport in Kansas, he made a post to social media that has proven to be particularly haunting.
He uploaded an image around 7pm ET on Wednesday of the wing of the doomed aircraft from his seat by the window. He captioned it ICT -> DCA the codes for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Other elite members of the American figure skating team are also believed to have been onboard the plane. They were also expected to compete at the next winter Olympics.
Spencer Lane’s final post before the American Airlines plane crash(Spencer Lane)
They were returning home to the DC area after attending a National Development Camp for young skaters in Wichita, Kansas.
Today (January 30) authorities gave a grim update on the incident.
During a news conference, DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said: “We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.
“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has said that the plane is in three parts and that the search will continue today for the sake of the American people.
Duffy also said that both aircrafts were on ‘standard flightpaths’ before the collision and that it’s ‘not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at DCA’.
Everything we know so far about the American Airlines plane crash
What caused the American Airlines crash?
This is still to be determined, with the black boxes from both the helicopter and plane vital to establishing what was going on in the build up to the fatal collision.
All we know at this stage is that the passenger plane and military helicopter collided as the plane was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s Runaway 33 to land.
What has American Airlines said about the crash?
The CEO of American Airlines, Robert Isom, issued a response to the incident as he explained he was travelling to DC with a specialist team to aid the investigation.
In a statement, the businessman said: “This is a difficult day for all of us at American Airlines and our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones.
“I know that there are many questions. At this early stage, I’ll not be able to answer all of them, but I do want to share the information I have at this time.”
What has Donald Trump said about the American Airlines crash?
President Trump described the incident as a ‘bad situation’ that ‘should have been prevented’.
“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn.
“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!! What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!”
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Topics: American Airlines, News, US News, Social Media
A married couple who were world champion figure skaters have been confirmed as passengers on board the American Airlines flight that fatally collided with a helicopter last night.
The American Airlines Flight 5342 had departed Wichita, Kansas, and was expecting to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter at around 9pm on Wednesday (January 29).
The airplane was reportedly carrying 60 travellers and four crew members, while three were onboard the helicopter, when the aircrafts collided some 300 feet above the Potomac River.
The aircrafts fell into the Potomac River (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The water is still being extensively searched by emergency services who have confirmed today it expects to find no survivors in what is shaping up to be the deadliest US air disaster in more than 20 years.
Now, married world champion figure skaters and coaches of the sport, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, have been confirmed as passengers on the plane, according to local news reports in Russia.
The pair had won the world championships in figure skating together three decades ago in 1994 and had reportedly been living in the US since at least 1998, reports The Mirror.
Maxim and his parents (@maxim.naumov_/Instagram)
Russia’s TASS and RIA news agencies also report it is feared their son, Maxim, was also on board the plane along with more than dozen other Russian figure skaters.
Maxim and other skaters had competed in the US figure skating championships in Wichita just days ago.
Inna Volyanskaya, who had competed for the Soviet Union and coached the Washington figure skating club, is also believed to have been on board.
Russian pairs figure skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova at the World Figure Skating Championships in Edmonton, 1996 (Jeff HAYNES / AFP) (Photo by JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
Another skater, Spencer Lane, also uploaded a photograph of the plane’s wing before its takeoff in Wichita with the caption: “ICT TO DCA,” referencing the codes for Wichita and Reagan airports, The New York Post reports.
The US Figure Skating has since issued a statement via the Olympics website, confirming skaters were on board the flight.
The statement reads: “Several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C. These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.”
The family posted this snap of Maxim at the event just two days ago (Instagram/@team.genia.vadim)
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” it continues. “We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”
Another statement by The International Skating Union (ISU) released on Twitter reads in part: “We are heartbroken to learn that Figure Skaters, along with their families, friends, and coaches, are understood to be among those on board.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport—it’s a close-knit family—and we stand together. We remain in close contact with U.S. Figure Skating and offer our full support during this incredibly difficult time.”
Spencer Lane uploaded this image of the jet on the runaway in Wichita (Instagram/@spencerskates26)
CBS News reports the plane has split into multiple pieces and is currently eight feet deep in the river.
District of Columbia fire chief, John Donnelly, also said in a sombre press conference today (Thursday, January 30) that 28 bodies have been found to date and have switched their rescue mission to a recovery operation.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.