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Chicago area figure skaters mourn friends who died when plane, helicopter collided over D.C.

Suburban Chicago teen figure skaters knew athletes killed in D.C. plane crash
Suburban Chicago teen figure skaters knew athletes killed in D.C. plane crash 02:53

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. (CBS) -- The plane that crashed into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. after colliding in midair with a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night was transporting some passengers returning home from a development camp held in connection with the U.S. Figure Skating championships.

The tragedy has had a massive impact on Chicago's teenage figure skating community.

The first thing Chicago area figure skaters said Thursday was that they were in shock. The athletes are all in group chats and follow each other on social media, so it didn't take long to figure out that American Eagle Flight No. 5342 was carrying their friends home from the event they all attended in Wichita, Kansas.

"Skating is a very small, tight-knit community," said skater Rebecca Lichtman. "We're all around each other. There are a lot of connections with one another."

Suburban Chicago figure skaters knew victims of D.C. midair plane crash 02:28

Rebecca said it is emotional when she takes the ice at her home rink in Buffalo Grove, wearing the jacket she received while at the National Development Camp in Wichita earlier this week with some of the skaters who died in the plane crash. Some of the athletes who took part are as young as 13 years old.

The camp was held in connection with the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and many of the skating families overlapped at the events.

Rebecca shared a photo of her training squad with her arm around Alydia Livingston — who was killed in the plane crash.

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Chicago area figure skater Rebecca Lichtman is seen with her arm around Alydia Livingston (navy blue jacket) at a National Development Camp in Wichita. Alydia later died when a plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter in midair over Washington, D.C. Rebecca Lichtman

For Lorenzo Elano, 17, it should have been one of the happiest times of his athletic career — as he was named U.S. Junior Men National Champion. But that moment is now combined with tragedy.

"It's just really sad. They all have so much potential at becoming an Olympian, and it's so sad that it had to get cut short," he said.

Lorenzo had four friends aboard the plane that crashed, including 16-year-old Spencer Lane, who posted a photo on Instagram with the Chicago area kids at the development camp.

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Spencer Lane (highlighted) died when a plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter in midair over Washington, D.C. Spencer Lane

A video with Spencer showed another victim, Franco Aparicio.

In another photo, Jiaying Ellyse Johnson of North Barrington smiled with Jinna Han from Boston. The two were expecting to see each other again next week, but Jinna too was killed in the plane crash.

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Jinna Han poses with Jiaying Ellyse Johnson at a National Development Camp in Wichita. Jinna later died when a plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter in midair over Washington, D.C. Jiaying Ellyse Johnson

"Jinna, she has a beautiful smile. Like her smile was so contagious, and just like, she would light up any room that she was in," Johnson said. "and Spencer, he had this very beautiful voice, and like, I just wish that I could, like, hear it again."

At least two of the skaters practicing in Buffalo Grove on Thursday were planning to fly to a training camp in Boston on Sunday. That rink in Boston is Jinna and Spencer's home rink.

"I've never went through something like this. This is completely new to me," said Jiaying, "and I'm trying my best to handle it and just like keep their families in their prayers and in my thoughts."  

The Chicago area skaters said they don't know how they'll feel when they get to Boston, but they know their friends loved the sport — and they see visiting the rink for the training camp as a way to honor them. However, following a deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., this week, the event in Boston was canceled. The host site had six of their members aboard the American Airlines jet that crashed into a military helicopter, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft.

Suburban Chicago figure skaters remember friends who died in D.C. plane crash 02:29

A Chicago area figure skating coach remembers 2 colleagues and friends

Chicago area figure skating coach remembers friends and colleagues who died in plane crash 02:23

Figure skating coach Oleg Podvalny was also in Wichita for the National Championship and training camp this past week. He skated and competed with Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov — who were killed in the D.C. plane crash.

"I don't know what to say," Podvalny said Thursday in Wilmette. "It just makes me cry."

Podvalny woke up Thursday morning to find out Shishkova and Naumov had died in the plane and helicopter collision. The Russian-born coaches were a married couple, had competed in the Olympics, and had won the pairs title in the 1994 World Championship.

They were among six skaters from the elite Skating Club of Boston who were killed in the crash.

Podvalny had kept in touch with Shishkova and Naumov for 40 years, and saw Naumov in Wichita this week.

"I just talked to him like pretty much day before — before that happened — just day before that happened. I couldn't believe," Podvalny said. "I mean, it's tragedy."

Podvalny said they all came the United States from the Soviet Union around the same time, and see each other a couple times a year. So this week at the U.S. Figure Skating Development Camp, they checked in.

"I saw Vadim there, and we kind of meet each other, and say like, 'Hi, hi, how are you?' like crossing each other and saying, 'How's your life? How's family?' pretty much all the time," Podvalny said.

Podvalny said Shishkova and Naumov have a 23-year-old son, Maxim, who won fourth place at the national championship over the weekend. He was not on the flight with his parents.

"Hopefully he will handle himself really strong, because he's a young guy, and a whole life in front of him," said Podvalny.

Podvalny said the skaters on the flight were future Olympians.

A very similar tragedy happened in 1961, when 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team were killed when their plane crashed in Belgium.

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