Figure skating legend Nancy Kerrigan said she is “not sure how to process” the deadly plane and helicopter collision on Wednesday near Washington, D.C., that involved skaters, coaches and parents from a Boston ice skating club that she attended.
“We’ve been through tragedies before as Americans, as people, and we are strong,” Kerrigan said at a press conference. “And I guess it’s how we respond to it, and so my response is to be with people I care about and I love and I needed support, so that’s why I am here.”
The Context
The plane, American Airlines Flight 5342, with 60 passengers and four crew on board, had a midair collision with a Black Hawk Army helicopter on Wednesday, marking the first major aviation disaster in the United States involving a commercial aircraft since 2009.
All 64 people were feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday. Six people aboard the plane were confirmed as two skaters, two coaches, and two parents from the Skating Club of Boston, where Kerrigan is an alumna.
What To Know
The incident occurred shortly before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and the number of casualties is unclear as the search-and-rescue operation continues. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that a “CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport.”
The flight had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, and was approaching landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the helicopter. The helicopter was on a training flight with a crew of three based out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Kerrigan said her husband, who is her agent, keeps getting calls for her to do interviews, and she said she “thought that was weird to be home doing interviews for this.”
“I think we all just need to go together,” Kerrigan said during the press conference at the Skating Club of Boston. “We just want to be here and part of our community.”
Kerrigan won bronze medals at the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Winter Olympics. She also won silver medals in the 1992 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics.
The coaches on board the plane, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, won the pairs title at the 1994 World Championships and competed twice in the Olympics.
“I just, I feel for the athletes, the skaters, and their families but anyone who was on that plane, not just the skaters,…
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