Emotional Skating Event Honors D.C. Plane Crash Victims

Emotional Figure Skating Event Honors Victims of Tragic Plane Crash

In a heart-wrenching display of emotion and solidarity, the figure skating community came together in Washington, D.C., to honor the victims of a devastating midair collision. The event, aptly named “Legacy on Ice,” was a poignant tribute to the 67 lives lost when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight, crashing into the Potomac River on January 29. Among those who perished were 28 members of the figure skating community, many of whom lived and trained in the Washington area.

The atmosphere inside Capital One Arena was charged with emotion as skaters took to the ice, each performance a heartfelt homage to the victims. Maxim Naumov, in a particularly moving moment, wept on his knees at the end of his routine dedicated to his parents. He wiped away tears as he skated off the ice, holding an electric candle aloft as applause cascaded down from the stands. Amber Glenn and 13-year-old Isabella Aparicio also broke down after their performances, the latter skating in memory of her brother Franco and their father Luciano.

“There was not a dry eye to be found anywhere,” pairs skater Madison Chock remarked, capturing the collective sentiment of the audience.

The event was more than just a skating show; it was a gathering of the community to grieve, remember, and begin the healing process. Fans lit up the arena with their cellphones, creating a sea of light that mirrored the stars on the dasher boards—67 in total, one for each victim. Skaters placed flowers on a rinkside table of candles before beginning their routines, a solemn reminder of the lives lost.

Evan Bates, who with Chock won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022, expressed the importance of the event: “Everyone grieves in their own way, and the last month has been really challenging for a lot of us to just grapple with the magnitude of this loss. I think coming together today and doing something tangible like a show will give people, hopefully, a little glimmer of hope and a little light for that next step forward.”

The show was emceed by American figure skating icons Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano, and featured performances by stars such as Johnny Weir and reigning men’s world champion Ilia Malinin. Boitano opened the show with a message of resilience: “We are not powerless. As skaters, we learned to be resilient and to always find a path forward that is positive.”

Ted Leonsis, head of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which organized the event along with U.S. Figure Skating, DC Fire & EMS Foundation, and the Greater Washington Community Foundation, emphasized the healing power of sports. “Sports can play this convening and healing role,” Leonsis said. “Our goal is to allow the community to heal, kind of a collective hug for these communities, but then we want to raise a lot of money.”

• Skaters performed to a variety of emotional pieces, including:
• Amber Glenn to Andra Day’s “Rise Up”
• Jason Brown to “The Impossible Dream” by Josh Groban
• Alysa Liu to “Hero” by Mariah Carey

Johnny Weir dedicated his performance to the members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club who were on American Flight 5342. “It was a very traumatic experience for me and really just devastating for me to hear when all that happened,” Malinin said. “All of our daily lives, every time we step on the ice, we’ll always think of them. Every time we’re competing, they’ll always be in our hearts.”

1968 Olympic champion Peggy Fleming expressed her hope that the event “will heal and give strength to our skaters in the future.” Alysa Liu echoed this sentiment, saying she wants to honor the memory of those lost so she “can keep going.”

Scott Hamilton, 41 years after winning gold at the Olympics, led a prayer on the ice. The ensemble performance to “Imagine” and the grand finale set to Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” were highlights of the emotional two-plus-hour show.

U.S. Figure Skating interim CEO Sam Auxier praised the event: “It was just an amazing show. You could see even with Ilia the passion and the feelings about what happened coming through in their skating.”

The sellout crowd of over 15,000 included hundreds of first responders and their families, some of whom traveled from as far as Baltimore to be part of the rescue and recovery efforts. “This was an incredibly challenging scene for those first responders,” DC Fire and EMS Foundation executive director Amy Mauro said. “The things that they witnessed are very difficult and will stay with them for a long time. This is part of their grieving and healing process, as well.”

Monumental president of external affairs and chief administrative officer Monica Dixon highlighted the financial support aspect of the event: “We’ve heard from the families about things like college tuition for young children who are in elementary school today but also things like therapy and health care that they need. Every family will choose how to use those funds in the best way that they choose.”

The event aired live on Monumental Sports Network and streamed on Peacock, with NBC set to show an encore performance on March 30. “That’s what we’re hoping: We raise a lot of donations that way,” Leonsis said. “People care. The lesson in this is that, to me, if you personalize something like this, you can come together and do the right things in the right way.”