Figure skater's father mourns death of son and wife in D.C. plane crash: "He was just loved by everyone."
BARRINGTON, R.I. – A Rhode Island man is mourning the death of his son, 16-year-old figure skater Spencer Lane, and wife, Christine Lane, after they were killed Wednesday night when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed near Washington, D.C.
The American Airlines plane, which had 60 passengers and four crew on board, collided midair with an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers. There were no survivors in the crash, which happened near Reagan National Airport.
Among the victims in the crash were six people with ties to The Skating Club of Boston. The group's CEO Doug Zeghibe said skaters Spencer Lane and 13-year-old Jinna Han were killed. In addition to Spencer Lane's mother, Han's mother Jin Han and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were also killed.
Spencer Lane was "force of nature," father says
Douglas Lane spoke to Rhode Island television station WPRI following the death of his son and wife. He called his son a "force of nature."
"In his home club in Boston, he was just loved by everyone from the adults running to club to the smallest skaters, to the people that are competing for a shot at the Olympics, they all just adored him," Douglas Lane told the news station.
Douglas and Christine Lane adopted Spencer and his brother Milo from South Korea.
Spencer Lane attended Barrington High School as a freshman before leaving the school to pursue a career in figure skating.
"Our entire Barrington community mourns with the Lane family, the Skating Club of Boston, and all who knew and loved Christine and Spencer Lane. Spencer was a talented and driven young athlete with a bright future, and this is an unimaginable loss," Barrington Superintendent of Schools Robert Wargo said in a statement.
Zeghibe said Spencer Lane was "rocketing to the top of the sport."
Christine Lane death
According to her husband, Christine Lane was a creative person with a passion for graphic design and photography.
"For Christine, just the amount of people from the community in Rhode Island I've already heard from today that she's touched," he said. "Whether it was screening them to adopt the dog that they loved or helping them with a summer project or whatever, she was just one of those people that could just kind of plug in anywhere, connect with people and build a real bond."