‘There’s a lot of pain’: Central Virginia ice skating community grieves skaters, coaches in DC plane crash
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Central Virginia ice skating community is grieving the loss of fellow skaters, coaches and loved ones who perished in a devastating plane crash Wednesday night. The victims, including 14 figure skaters, their coaches and family members, were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kan., when their American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River. All 64 passengers and crew members on the flight and the 3 people on the helicopter are presumed dead. Among those killed was Alexandr Kirsanov, a highly respected figure skating coach from the University of Delaware. His loss has deeply affected fellow coaches and skaters nationwide, including longtime Richmond Ice Zone coach and friend Eric Meier. “'All of our thoughts and prayers' — that phrase gets used too much sometimes, but right now, it's true,” Meier said. “We're all just thinking of the families and the loved ones that have lost people.” Meier, who had known Kirsanov for years, described him as a dedicated coach, father and husband. “There’s a lot of pain to go around,” he said. “Shock … I don’t know if it’s really sunk in yet. Pain for his daughter and his wife, all his students—because when you teach figure skating, all your students are almost like your kids.” The tight-knit figure skating community has been left reeling from the tragedy. Meier recalled competing against Kirsanov’s students over the years and acknowledged the heartbreak of knowing that his friend’s daughter would now have to carry on without him. “I know the next competition I go to, when I see his daughter and not him, that will be hard,” he said. “But it will be hard for everybody.” Officials are still investigating the crash and working to piece together what went wrong. Recovery efforts have been halted, but the impact of the tragedy continues to ripple through the skating world. As the community mourns, skaters, coaches, and families across the country are coming together to honor the lives lost in this unimaginable tragedy. Stay with 8News for updates on this developing story.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Central Virginia ice skating community is grieving the loss of fellow skaters, coaches and loved ones who perished in a devastating plane crash Wednesday night.
The victims, including 14 figure skaters, their coaches and family members, were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kan., when their American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River.
All 64 passengers and crew members on the flight and the 3 people on the helicopter are presumed dead.
Among those killed was Alexandr Kirsanov, a highly respected figure skating coach from the University of Delaware. His loss has deeply affected fellow coaches and skaters nationwide, including longtime Richmond Ice Zone coach and friend Eric Meier.
“'All of our thoughts and prayers' — that phrase gets used too much sometimes, but right now, it's true,” Meier said. “We're all just thinking of the families and the loved ones that have lost people.”
Meier, who had known Kirsanov for years, described him as a dedicated coach, father and husband.
“There’s a lot of pain to go around,” he said. “Shock … I don’t know if it’s really sunk in yet. Pain for his daughter and his wife, all his students—because when you teach figure skating, all your students are almost like your kids.”
The tight-knit figure skating community has been left reeling from the tragedy. Meier recalled competing against Kirsanov’s students over the years and acknowledged the heartbreak of knowing that his friend’s daughter would now have to carry on without him.
“I know the next competition I go to, when I see his daughter and not him, that will be hard,” he said. “But it will be hard for everybody.”
Officials are still investigating the crash and working to piece together what went wrong. Recovery efforts have been halted, but the impact of the tragedy continues to ripple through the skating world.
As the community mourns, skaters, coaches, and families across the country are coming together to honor the lives lost in this unimaginable tragedy.
Stay with 8News for updates on this developing story.
