Many families are struggling to come to terms with the loss they experienced after the recent plane crash over the Potomac River. This includes one father who paid tribute to his son who was on board American Airlines flight 5342.
The accident took place as American Airlines flight 5342 was en route to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29. There was a military Black Hawk helicopter in the area and they collided over the Potomac River, resulting in the death of everyone on board.
A rescue operation was launched immediately but unfortunately, all 64 people on the plane and three on the helicopter were considered lost so it turned into a recovery mission.
One individual who was on board and perished in the flight was a 16-year-old, Spencer Lane. He was with the Skating Club of Boston and his father posted his tribute about his son online.
The CEO of the club, Doug Zeghibe said: “Spencer, in the best way possible, was a crazy kid. Highly talented, has not been skating that long, and has been rocketing to the top of the sport. Very fun, very cerebral.”
Christine Lane, his mother, was also on the flight. They were flying with a number of members from the figure skating community. This included former world champions, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
A picture was shared by the teenager at approximately 7 PM that evening. The picture was posted on Instagram and was captioned: ‘ICT -> DCA’ which references the airports he was flying out of and into.
This is the first major airline disaster in the United States since 2009. Spencer’s father spoke out about his son after the accident. He said: “Whether he was in his home club in Boston, [Spencer] was just loved by everyone. From adults running the club to smaller skaters, to the people that are competing for a shot at the Olympics, they all adored him.”
He went on to say: “You simply could not stop him if he decided he wanted to do something.
“There is no better example of this than his remarkable skating journey, which we are heartbroken to see end too soon. He truly loved it, and his ascent from basic Learn to Skate classes to U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Team in just a few short years was unprecedented.”
He also spoke about his wife, Christine, who perished in the accident. He said that she was somebody who ‘exuded creativity throughout her life.’ He also said: “She was also a lover of animals, and we lost track of how many dogs she helped place in loving adoptive homes.”
We hope that those who experienced loss as a result of this tragedy find peace.
