The American Airlines flight that killed 14 figure skaters after colliding with an Army helicopter has strikingly similar parallels to a 1961 collision that killed the entire U.S. team, according to Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe.
“I think the final thing I want to say, that sadly, this isn’t the first time this club has experienced a tragedy like this,” Zeghibe told NBC10 on Thursday, January 30, one day after the AA crash occurred. “It’s now a ways back, but in 1961, the entire world team of U.S. figure skating en route to the World Championships in Prague was lost in a plane crash in Belgium.”
Zeghibe explained that “almost half” of the passengers on board the plane in 1961 were from The Skating Club of Boston.
“It had long, long, reaching implications for this skating club and for the sport in this country,” Zeghibe noted. “Because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well. It’s been a long time in redeveloping it and I personally feel that this club, The Skating Club of Boston, has just now, almost 60 years later, been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash. So this is particularly devastating.”
The figure skating world is dealing with a major loss after American Airlines flight 5342 crashed with multiple members of the community onboard. During a Thursday, January 30, press conference, The Skating Club of Boston’s CEO, Doug Zeghibe, said “to the best of our knowledge, 14 skaters returning home” from the U.S. Figure Skating National […]
In February 1961, Sabena Flight 548 was transporting the U.S. team to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Among the people who died in the crash included 16 family members, coaches and friends of the skaters.
More than 60 years later, news broke on Wednesday, January 29, that an airplane crashed into an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport and fell into the Potomac River while attempting to land in Washington, D.C. WUSA9 reported that more than “300 emergency crews” conducted a search and rescue operation. More than a dozen bodies have since been recovered from the water.
Among the reported 60 passengers and four crew members on flight 5342 that left Kansas on Wednesday included skaters associated with The Skating Club of Boston.
U.S. Figure Skating announced that American Airlines Flight 5342 was carrying several of its athletes when it crashed into the Potomac River. The organization provided a statement to news outlet WUSA9 on Thursday, January 30. “U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which […]
“Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” Zeghibe said in a statement. “Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 to 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.”
The statement continued, “These athletes, coaches and parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp, following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the most promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The Club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp.”
Some of the passengers on the flight were leaving the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in Wichita from January 20 to 26. The U.S. Figure Skating website shared that a reception was held to mark the induction of the Hall of Fame’s class of 2025.
