Young US Ice Dancers Won 1st Place Before Tragic Washington, DC Plane Crash – See Their Video

Eleven-year-old figure skaters Angela Yang and Sean Kay were rising stars, having recently won first place at the 2025 Midwestern Sectional U.S. Ice Dance Final. Tragically, their bright futures were cut short when they were killed in a plane crash. On Wednesday night, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River, killing all 67 people aboard, including coaches, skaters, and their families.

Angela and Sean were on their way home from a developmental skating camp in Wichita, along with their mothers, Lily and Julia. Angela’s mother had relocated their family to Delaware to support Angela’s skating dreams, while Sean’s mother, a nurse, homeschooled her children to ensure they could train. Angela is survived by her father and two siblings, while Sean leaves behind his father and three siblings.

The tragedy also claimed the lives of other skaters, including 16-year-old Spencer Lane, 13-year-old Jinna Han, and two Russian coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. The loss has devastated the figure skating community, with tributes flooding social media from around the world. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.