Hours after a plane crash tragically took the lives of U.S. Figure Skating members, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir were calling the European Figure Skating Championships, and they opened the broadcast with an emotional tribute.
Wednesday night, an American Airlines passenger jet, American Eagle Flight 5342, collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, crashing into the Potomac River. With three Army soldiers onboard the helicopter, 60 passengers and four crew members were on the plane. No survivors are expected, making it the deadliest U.S. air disaster since 2001.
Following the incident, U.S. Figure Skating confirmed several members of its team were on the flight. Weir began the European Championship broadcast by addressing the tragic loss.
Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir open the European Figure Skating Championships today with a very emotional tribute to the victims of the plane crash in Washington D.C. last night
(h/t @sportswithben1) pic.twitter.com/Uu91q9cYX7
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 30, 2025
“As we come on the air for the European Figure Skating Championships, we are all hurting today,” Weir said. “We were absolutely heartbroken by the news that several members of our skating community were among those lost in the tragic plane crash in Washington D.C. last night.”
Weir grew emotional while sharing statements from U.S. Figure Skating, the International Skating Union and IOC president Thomas Bach before introducing a moment of silence that was held in the arena prior to the championships.
Following the moment of silence, Lipinski spoke, through tears, on the “unimaginable loss” felt by the skating community.
“My heart is completely broken for our skating community, their families and loved ones,” Lipinski said. “My heart is with all the families affected and that’s the part I have no words for. It will not do it justice. It is so widespread throughout our skating community, and we are such a close-knit family. And I know our skating community will never be the same, but we will always remember them.”
14 members of the skating community were reported to be on the flight. Six were from the Skating Club in Boston, including two coaches, two athletes and their mothers. Those members were coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, skater Spencer Lane and his mother Christine, and skater Jinna Han and her mother Jin. The team was on their way back from Wichita, Kansas, after last week’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships. 18 skaters traveled from the Skating Club in Boston for the event, and 12 remained after the championships to attend a training camp.
“My whole heart is with everybody affected by this terrible tragedy,” Weir added. “We are so devastated for your loss.”
