Wednesday night’s plane crash outside Washington, D.C., that killed a yet-unknown number of U.S. figure skaters, coaches and family members was devastating news for the skating community. It also rekindled painful memories of another tragedy nearly 64 years ago.
On Feb. 15, 1961, the entire U.S. figure skating team died in a plane crash in Belgium on its way to the that year’s world championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Among the 72 passengers killed in the crash were 18 skaters, plus 16 coaches, officials, judges and family members. It remains to this day one of the nation’s greatest sports tragedies.
‘Those were all my friends and coaches,’ 1960 Olympic bronze medalist Ron Ludington told the (Wilmington, Delaware) News Journal in a 2010 interview. ‘I grew up with them, and I traveled all over the world with them.’
Ludington was supposed to be one of the coaches on the flight, but he had to back out at the last minute.
None of the 60 passengers and four crew members aboard Wednesday’s American Airlines Flight 5342 survived the crash as the plane collided with a military helicopter as it was about to land at Washington Reagan National Airport.
The flight originated in Wichita, Kansas, the site of the recently completed U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
U.S. Figure Skating, the sport’s national governing body, said in a statement that the athletes, coaches and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. championships.
‘We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,’ U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.
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