American Airline Crash: Promising Korean-American Teen Skaters Among Confirmed Victims

Two promising Korean-American teenage figure skaters were among those on board a passenger plane that crashed after colliding with a military helicopter near Washington, D.C. on January 29. According to the Korean government’s consular officer in the U.S., Jinna Han, a teenage female figure skater, was confirmed to be of Korean descent through her skating club and the local Korean community.

Reports indicate that Jinna Han was returning from a U.S. national skating development camp linked to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Her nationality is believed to be American, as she was part of the U.S. skating community.

Additionally, local Rhode Island news outlet WPRI-TV reported that another teenage figure skater on board, Spencer Lane, was a Korean-American who had been adopted from Korea as a child. Spencer’s father, Douglas Lane, had adopted two sons from Korea. Spencer Lane, a 16-year-old high school figure skater, had competed in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and attended a national development camp in Wichita, Kansas, before the tragic incident.

According to CBS News, Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Boston Skating Club, confirmed that Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were on the plane with their mothers. The flight was carrying approximately 20 figure skaters, coaches, and staff, accounting for about one-third of the 64 total passengers, including crew members.

Reuters, The New York Times, and The Washington Post reported that the crash is the deadliest aviation accident in the U.S. since November 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 passengers and crew.

The plane, operated by PSA Airlines under American Airlines, was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for landing around 8:53 p.m. on January 29 when it collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter conducting training exercises. Both aircrafts plunged into the nearby Potomac River, with the plane breaking into three pieces upon impact. Debris from the helicopter was also found scattered in the area.

Air traffic control communications before the crash revealed that controllers had warned the helicopter to avoid the oncoming passenger plane just 30 seconds before impact. The control tower at Ronald Reagan Airport reportedly asked the helicopter, 'Do you see the passenger plane? Fly behind it,' but the collision could not be avoided.

The cause of the crash has yet to be fully determined, but investigators are focusing on why both aircraft were flying at the same altitude. During a press briefing at the White House on January 30, President Donald Trump addressed the crash, explaining that the helicopter could have taken millions of different evasive actions, but for some reason, it didn’t.

More than 300 rescue personnel have been deployed to recover the bodies of victims. The accident is believed to have resulted in the deaths of all 67 people on board the two aircrafts—64 passengers and crew members on the plane and three military personnel on the helicopter. President Trump confirmed during the press conference, that there are no survivors.