Thank you to everyone who showed concern, called, and texted from the morning to check if we were all alright. Thankfully, we are fine.
The plane was carrying athletes returning from a training camp in Wichita for top junior, intermediate, and novice figure skaters, coming back from the World Championship. Yes, some of them were known to Nadya and Masha, and a few were close friends. In total, 14 people related to the ice-skating community perished, and tragically, all 64 people on board died.
Six members of the US figure skating team on that ill-fated flight were affiliated with the Boston Figure Skating Club. Skater Spencer Lane, his mother Molly, skater Gina Han and her mother Jean, as well as coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board. Nadya and Masha were also closely acquainted with sisters Everly and Alidia Livingston, aged 11 and 14 respectively, and knew Inna Volyanskaya well. It is very, very sad news.
A similar tragedy occurred in 1961 when a plane carrying 18 members of the US figure skating team to the World Championships in Prague crashed during an attempt to land in Brussels. All 73 people onboard died, including the 16-year-old “Queen of American Ice,” Laurence Owen, along with her mother and coach Maribel Vinson-Owen and her older sister Maribel Owen.
Names of the deceased will be released. In the US, there is an unwritten ethical rule that the relatives of deceased individuals are notified first, followed by the media after some time.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 