A YOUNG figure skater shared a now-tragic picture from inside the doomed American Airlines plane that slammed into a Black Hawk helicopter and crashed near Washington DC. Spencer Lane, 26, is one of 64 passengers believed to be dead after the aircraft shattered into three pieces and plunged into the Potomac River on Wednesday night.
![[Person standing in front of a digital sign advertising the Skate Canada International figure skating competition.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/2a094ac0-9f8d-4d23-8198-0818971aa6cc.jpg?strip=all&w=904)
It was a clear night when the plane departed from Wichita, Kansas, at around 5 pm ET and arrived at Washington DC, at about 8:40 pm ET. As it approached the Regan Airport runway, a US Army Black Hawk flying on a training mission appeared to zoom straight into the plane's path, causing a massive fireball to erupt.
![[Airplane wing view from the tarmac, ICT to DCA.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/b16d0ea9-b6fb-4e75-89f5-28a6efc58e86.jpg?strip=all&w=750)
The aircraft plunged into the ice-black waters, and everyone is believed to be dead. So far, 28 bodies have been pulled from the river. Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe confirmed that skaters Lane, Jinna Han, and 1994 world champions Evgenia Shishkova were all killed in the crash.
![[Plane wreckage in the Potomac River with rescue boats.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/part-wreckage-seen-rescue-boats-967832200.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
They were among the 14 members of the skating community who were killed on their way from the US Figure Skating Championships. The competition ended on Sunday, but several exceptional skaters stayed for an elite training camp that was held in the days following.
![[Illustration of a timeline showing the events leading up to and following a mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/image_3a55b6.png?strip=all&w=620)
It comes as... Kent was one of those who qualified for the training, and he shared a picture from inside the plane on his Instagram at about 7 pm ET. He snapped a picture of the plane's wing as they sat on the run and wrote "ICT->DCA," which stands for the Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower National Airport and the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
![[Russian pair figure skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova performing a lift.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/russian-pairs-figure-skaters-vadim-967765022.jpg?strip=all&w=520)
