U.S. Figure Skating community grieves lives lost on American Airlines flight

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Many of the people on board American Airlines Flight 5342 were skaters, coaches, and parents with U.S. Figure Skating, which is headquartered in Colorado Springs. 

The crash left 67 presumed dead with no survivors. A tragedy KRDO13 anchor Brynn Carman had to cover all morning Thursday while uncovering memories of her own.  

"I started to realize a lot of these athletes were invited to this development camp after nationals. that's a big deal for a little skater. So I started thinking about myself as a little skater," explained Brynn Carman.

She was a world-renowned figure skater with accolades as far as the eye could see. The tragic events made her recount what it was like when she was that age and was accomplishing similar feats.

"The first time I got a Team USA jacket, the first time I got to skate in nationals, the first time I was awarded a medal, the first time my parents and I got on a plane for a competition. I mean, it, it really hits. Being that age in this sport and being invited to a camp like this and getting to skate. These were future skaters of the United States. Some of them might have made the Olympics in a decade, and now they're never going to have that chance," said Carman.

They were leaving a National Development Camp in Kansas where some of the best skaters in the world get to train.

"To see greatness and get to watch it and then get to learn from them the next few days and I think what breaks my heart is that they now don't get to go back to the rink on Monday. They don't get to work towards those goals. They're never going to be on Team USA, go to the Olympics, or go to the world to win a national medal. Like all of these, hopes and dreams are just pulled from them, and it really breaks my heart for these small rinks and skating clubs that have other skaters their age. We're talking victims eight, nine, ten, 11, 12. These are children. How are you going to tell your child that so-and-so is not coming to practice next week?" Carmen continued, "Those kinds of friendships and camaraderie and putting your skates on together and learning how to do an axel together? I mean, that's what skating is all about. It is a tight-knit community. So I not only feel terrible for the victims and for their families but also for everyone else in this small group that's going to be affected and impacted. And that's just not something you get over, especially with how significant a number of victims we have that were in the skating community."

Carman also spoke to how close figure skaters across the nation are, although they may be competitors at times they always have each other's back in the end.

"We are just one person away from knowing someone that either was a coach or had a student on that plane, or knew one of the parents, or maybe skated at one of the clubs. I mean, it's so close that I think everyone in the skating community is really going to feel that, especially here in Colorado Springs and with the Broadmoor Skating Club, we've been through a tragedy like this before. The 1961 world plane crash took the entire US skating team. We lost dozens of skaters, coaches, officials, family members and a lot of those athletes called Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor home," explained Carman.

In 1961, a plane crashed in Belgium on its way to the World Figure Skating Championships, killing everyone on board.

KRDO13 spoke with a skating coach who knew members aboard that flight who said the aftermath of the American Airlines crash brings up so many painful memories of that crash.

KRDO13 did confirm with coaches at the Broadmoor that at least 15 members of U.S. skating were aboard the American Airlines flight, that number includes coaches and skating students but does not include how many parents may have been aboard the flight.

Carman explained what the experience was like sharing the news with Southern Colorado.

"I want to provide comfort and context to viewers as they wake up and they hear this horrible news. I want to give them background on who these skaters were or where they came from," shared Carman, "I hope viewers know that, too, that I've tried to cover this story professionally, but personally it's been really hard."

Carman says this loss is so immense, and she is giving everyone a really big hug right now.

There's no indication that any of the victims killed aboard that flight were based here in Colorado Springs, but as you can imagine, the skating community here is still working to wrap their heads around this devastating loss. 

U.S. Figure Skating also shared this statement on social media:

U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C. These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.

U.S. Figure Skating