Members of the North Texas figure skating community are also sharing their collective grief and shock after American figure skaters, coaches and family members who had been at a camp in Wichita, Kansas, were among those aboard the passenger jet that crashed into the Potomac River Wednesday night. NBC 5’s David Goins has more.
The North Texas figure skating community is reeling after several of its own were lost in a tragic plane crash near Washington, D.C.
Nick Traxler, a former competitive skater, tried to stay focused while coaching in McKinney on Thursday, but his mind was elsewhere—on the friends he lost just the night before.
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He says those friends were among the victims when an American Eagle flight collided with a military helicopter while approaching Reagan National Airport.
“Just hearing, it’s kind of unbelievable,” Traxler said. “I just knew in my heart that there were bound to be some skaters on.”
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Word spread quickly Thursday morning as the depth of the loss became clear.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that several athletes, coaches, and family members were among the victims.
Julie Rey of Colleyville, a U.S. Figure Skating official, had just returned from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, which wrapped up Sunday.
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Some coaches remained in Washington through the week to attend the National Developmental Camp, an invitation-only event for young skaters with the potential to compete at the national level in the future.
“Everybody's dumbfounded, the words are not there,” Rey said. “Every other message is unthinkable.”
Vivian Le, now a coach in McKinney, attended the developmental camp and returned home Wednesday.
“I saw all of them yesterday at the camp before we left,” Le said. “The camp was a wonderful experience, but the fact that now I won’t be able to see them, it’s like, wow, it’s surreal.”
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The Dallas Figure Skating Club told NBC 5 that two of its skaters had qualified for the camp, but only one attended.
“They are all home safely,” club president Mary Pottenger said.
Pottenger noted that DFSC is the fourth-largest figure skating club in the country, with more than 600 members.
She added that the club plans to honor those lost on Flight AA5342 during events on February 9 and February 15-17 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen.
“Those losses will be felt for a long time,” Rey said