Figure skating legend Nancy Kerrigan said she is “not sure how to process” the deadly plane and helicopter collision on Wednesday near Washington, D.C., that involved skaters, coaches and parents from a Boston ice skating club that she attended.
“We’ve been through tragedies before as Americans, as people, and we are strong,” Kerrigan said at a press conference. “And I guess it’s how we respond to it, and so my response is to be with people I care about and I love and I needed support, so that’s why I am here.”
The Context
The plane, American Airlines Flight 5342, with 60 passengers and four crew on board, had a midair collision with a Black Hawk Army helicopter on Wednesday, marking the first major aviation disaster in the United States involving a commercial aircraft since 2009.
All 64 people were feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday. Six people aboard the plane were confirmed as two skaters, two coaches, and two parents from the Skating Club of Boston, where Kerrigan is an alumna.
Figure skating legend Nancy Kerrigan speaking after local skaters killed in DC plane crash https://t.co/dIHOLQdXDw
— Boston 25 News (@boston25) January 30, 2025
What To Know
The incident occurred shortly before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and the number of casualties is unclear as the search-and-rescue operation continues. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that a “CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport.”
The flight had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, and was approaching landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the helicopter. The helicopter was on a training flight with a crew of three based out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Kerrigan said her husband, who is her agent, keeps getting calls for her to do interviews, and she said she “thought that was weird to be home doing interviews for this.”
“I think we all just need to go together,” Kerrigan said during the press conference at the Skating Club of Boston. “We just want to be here and part of our community.”
Kerrigan won bronze medals at the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Winter Olympics. She also won silver medals in the 1992 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics.
The coaches on board the plane, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, won the pairs title at the 1994 World Championships and competed twice in the Olympics.
“I just, I feel for the athletes, the skaters, and their families but anyone who was on that plane, not just the skaters, because it’s such a tragic event,” Kerrigan said. “When you find out you know some of the people on the plane, it’s even a bigger blow.”
Kerrigan, born in Stoneham, Massachusetts, said she has not worked with Shishkova and Naumov but that “everything I’ve heard of them, maybe being a little bit tough but with a smile on their face.”
Kerrigan added that you “don’t have to know everybody to feel that connection” with others within the ice skating community. She said the couple would also be “welcoming and happy to see you” whenever she went to the skating club.
“To walk in here and not see them, I think, would be very strange for everybody that comes here, especially those that are here day in and day out,” Kerrigan said. “It’s not just here that’s hurting, and it’s not just in these specific places. Every rink that has skating, I’m sure, has some feelings on this. It’s tragic.”
What People Are Saying
Doug Zeghibe, executive director of the Skating Club of Boston: “I think a lot are trying to process it…Folks are just stunned by this. My phone is just blowing up with emails and texts.”
President Donald Trump in a press conference on Thursday: “As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly.”
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, in a video statement: “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. We understand and appreciate the people are eager for information, please know that we will continue to share accurate and timely information as soon as we can, but anything we must report, must be accurate.”
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, at a press conference on Thursday: “We will not accept excuses. We will not accept passing the buck.”
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