The deadly mid-air crash over Washington is impacting people across the country, including many in the Philadelphia region. NBC10’s Deanna Durante visited a local skate club and spoke with members about the loss of so many young figure skaters.
A funeral was held Saturday morning to honor the lives of two Delaware ice skaters, their mothers, and their coach after they were killed in last month's tragic mid-air collision near Washington, D.C.
Family, friends, and the community gathered at the University of Delaware's Fred Rust Ice Arena to pay their respects to to 11-year-old Sean Kay, his mother Yulia Kay, 12-year-old Angela Yang, her mother Zheheng “Lily” Li, and Alexandr "Sasha" Kirsanov, the skaters' coach and a former UD figure skating coach.
The service was held from 8 a.m. to noon and was open to the public. The families of the victims then had a private burial following at Gracelawn Memorial Park.
“It was such a tragedy. We have lost such bright lights and talent in our area. When that happens, the whole community feels it. It's important to be here for the families. It's important to show how much they were loved and will be missed," Delaware State Senator Stephanie Hansen told NBC10.
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Jeffrey Nolt, a figure skating coach, visited from Baltimore to attend the funeral sharing his condolences and his own memories with Sasha.
"He would come down a couple days a week and I had a lot of respect for him. He was a good man, worked very hard, great skater, great ankles and knees and just an exceptional skater. Very professional, good dad, good husband, just did the right things, you know," said Nolt.
According of officials, all 67 people aboard an American Eagle flight from Kansas and an Army helicopter were killed in a collision over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29, 2025
Among the passengers on flight were elite figure skaters returning from a training camp in Wichita, labor union members and relatives.
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