COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — On Monday evening, dozens of people packed inside the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum to honor the 28 people connected to U.S. Figure Skating who were killed in American Eagle Flight 5342.
On Jan. 29, 60 passengers and four crew members were on the flight from Wichita, Kansas to Washington D.C. when the plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.
No one survived the crash.
28 of the passengers on the aircraft were connected to U.S. Figure Skating. Four U.S. Figure Skating coaches, 11 athletes and 13 of their family members died as a result of the collision.
Colorado Springs Area
U.S. Figure Skating, based in Colo., mourns members killed in mid-air collision
Justin Dillon is the senior director for Athlete High Performance, meaning he oversees all of the Team USA athletes in U.S. Figure Skating programs and camps. He was with the athletes in Wichita before the crash.
“I was there for almost a week and a half. So, we have the U.S. Championships — the competition takes place first, so the junior and senior athletes compete, and all of the campers, they actually observe the events in hopes to one day be competing, you know, in those same events in years to come. Then it's followed by the development camp, and the development camp is our stars of tomorrow," Dillon explained.
The 28 members of the figure skating community on that flight from Wichita were traveling home from the National Development Camp.
"Red was the color that was chosen for the jacket this year. It's a badge of honor. It's like receiving your first Team USA coat if you compete internationally. This is that first kind of springboard to that opportunity," Dillon said, as several young people wearing red jackets began to walk into the vigil. “Those red jackets you wear with pride and with honor, and it's a little bit harder right now... What does this jacket mean for all of us? And I think that we'll find a way to have it have the honor that it deserves, and that will be in conjunction with, you know, remembering those that we lost.”
Dillon described the grief as a ripple effect that cannot be ignored.
While speaking at the podium, Dillon said the memories of those who died in the crash will forever be carried into the rink with other athletes.
“May we find light, even in darkness. May we honor their memory, not just in grief, but in the way we continue to support and lift each other up. And may we remember that even in loss, love endures," Dillon said.
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