Boston Skaters Mourn Losses Following D.C. Plane Crash
Louisa Corbett
February 23, 2025
On Jan. 29, an American Airlines commercial plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided over the Potomac River. The crash left no survivors—all 60 airplane passengers, four crew members, and three helicopter operators died.
The American Airlines flight, which departed from Wichita, Kansas, was transporting numerous figure skaters, including six with ties to the Skating Club of Boston. Athletes Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were returning home from the National Development Camp, held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, also in Wichita. Traveling with them were their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane, and coaches, two-time Olympians and 1994 World Figure Skating Championship winners, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova. Shishkova and Naumov were not only dynamic skating partners, but also a couple; they are survived by their son, Maxim Naumov, whom they coached to his spot on Team USA.
Jinna, 13, and Spencer, 16, were both highly accomplished skaters with big ambitions. Despite picking up skating only three years ago, Spencer had trained his way to one of the highest levels of youth skating in the world: the National Development Camp, which trains future Team USA skaters in world championships and the Olympics. He dedicated himself to the sport, commuting from Rhode Island to Connecticut for training—and teammates agree that his dedication is not limited to athletics, but to people: “He brought joy to everyone he came across at camp,” reported the US Figure Skating website. Jinna, too, dreamt big. “I really want to go to the Olympics…and try to get a gold medal,” she said to an NBC reporter at age ten. Her prowess on the rink is evident; at only 13 years old, she was skating at a pre-Olympic level at the National Development Camp. Jinna was also "wise beyond her years,” offering support to older and younger teammates alike. Even as a ten-year-old, Jinna was thoughtful and articulate: her responses to the interviewer’s questions demonstrate a maturity rare for children her age.
In the wake of the accident, the Skating Club of Boston community ached from its losses. Skaters Florence (Flossie) Grant, Anh Tran-Nguyen, and Merikkuka Koeppel, also connected to the skating club, shared their perspectives on the tragedy.
“We lost six of our beloved club members to the collision,” explained Tran-Nguyen. “They were the heart of our club.”
Her comments reflect the online sentiment of outpouring love for Jinna and Spencer; countless teammates and friends felt supported by them.
“Spencer and Jinna were some of the most friendly, dedicated, and supportive people [I’ve met],” said Grant. She talked of the joyful atmosphere they brought to the community.
Koeppel also mourns their deaths, holding immense respect for Spencer’s dedication.
“Remarkably, he only started [skating] a few years ago, [making his qualification for the National Development Camp] an incredible feat,” she said.
Grant, Tran-Nguyen, and Koeppel also spoke to the effect the devastation had on their club.
“The ice remained empty that day because skaters had chosen not to skate,” Tran-Nguyen said, describing an act of tender remembrance and solidarity with the victims.
“The press had been in the building all day…there was an event for all of the club the day after the plane crashed,” Grant said. “People were in tears.”
“When [you enter] the Skating Club of Boston…you are hit by the scent of hundreds of flowers that are spread across everywhere in the rink,” Koeppel said.
As the skating community tries to move onwards, Tran-Nguyen continues to grapple with how to handle the tragedy.
“I have decided,” Tran-Nguyen said, “that the best way to honor Spencer, Jinna, Vadim, and Genia’s lives is to work harder for them [and] to win nationals for them. With this shared love for our sport, we are all doing our best to move forward; I think that that is what they would want… Every time I step onto the ice now, I remind myself that I am skating for those who no longer can.”
Quotes from Grant, Koeppel, and Tran-Nguyen were provided by Jai Malhotra, Milton Measure sports reporter.