Two of the youngest victims of the tragic American Airlines plane crash have been identified as a gifted ice skating pair.
The American Airlines flight had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, and was on its final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when, at approximately 9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29, it collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.
Onboard the plane were 60 passengers and four crew members, while the helicopter carried three military personnel. Following the crash, both aircraft plummeted into the icy waters of the Potomac River.
No one survived what is now being called the deadliest U.S. air disaster in over two decades.
Among the 67 victims, two young ice dancers, Angela Yang and Sean Kay, have now been identified.
The duo, reportedly just 11 and 12 years old, were part of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club. They had been traveling back from the National Development Camp, which ran from January 20 to 26 in Kansas, where elite juvenile figure skaters trained.
A Facebook obituary from a skating group described the duo as “undefeated in juvenile ice dance this season.”
Videos of their performances from November have since gained widespread attention online, capturing the pair gracefully gliding and spinning to enthusiastic applause.
They later secured first place in multiple events at the 2025 Midwestern Sectional Singles and US Ice Dance competitions in Texas.
A post shared by the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club on Facebook highlighted that Yang was first drawn to ice skating after watching her siblings play ice hockey.
The club also noted that Kay had earned first place in the Excel Juvenile Plus Boys category at the 2023 Excel Series Final.
On the day of the crash, Yang had posted on Instagram, expressing how much she enjoyed her time 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 coach, 46-year-old Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov, also lost his life in the crash, according to his widow, who spoke with Delaware Online.
Natalia Gudin shared her grief with 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.”
Reflecting on the young skaters’ potential, she added, “This young team—Sean Kay and Angela Yang—they were so amazing. 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,” she concluded.
Kirsanov was a seasoned ice dancer who had represented the US, Azerbaijan, and Russia in competition, earning a bronze medal in 2003.
He was one of several figure skating professionals on board the tragic flight. According to US Figure Skating, dozens of its members had participated in the training camp and the figure skating championships that took place alongside it.
Among the victims were Boston-based skaters Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16, along with their mothers.
Lane shared a heartbreaking final photo on social media, capturing the plane just before its departure from Kansas.
Also among the passengers were ice skating coaches and married couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. Their son, Maxim, reportedly confirmed their presence on the flight to Russian media.
The pair had claimed the World Championship title in figure skating back in 1994 and had been living in the U.S. since at least 1998.
Initially, there were fears that Maxim had also been on board, but reports indicate that he had left the competition on Monday alongside American figure skater Anton Spiridonov.