Dancing On Ice’s Torvill and Dean pen emotional tribute to American Airlines crash victims
Dancing On Ice’s Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have paid tribute after an American Airlines flight crashed with a military helicopter.
The heartbreaking incident at Ronald Reagan National happened at around 9pm on Wednesday night, local time. It’s the first fatal crash involving a commercial US airliner in 15 years and it’s expected that nobody has survived the incident. An intense search and rescue mission is currently underway and it’s believed that 64 people were onboard both aircrafts in total.
The American Airlines aircraft had been attempting to land, having travelled from Wichita, Kansas, when it collided with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, an Army chopper said to have been on a training flight. The first victims have already been named, and more heartbreaking announcements are expected over the coming hours.
It has recently emerged that a figure skating team had been onboard the aircraft. Olympic skating legends, Jayne and Chris have since taken to X, formerly known as Twitter to share their condolences. In a statement in view of their 110, 000 followers, they said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of those on flight 5342 and extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and friends. May they rest in peace”.
At around 7pm local time last night, Spencer Lane, 26, shared the photo showing the jet taxiing on the runway at Wichita Airport in Kansas before taking off for its last flight. The caption read, “ICT – >, DCA” which are the codes for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Other figure skaters, including athletes expected to compete at the next winter Olympics, were also onboard at the time of the collision. They had just attended a National Development Camp for young skaters in Kansas, and were returning home to the DC area. In addition to the Americans, there were also two Russian figure skaters – married Yevgenia Skhiskhkova and Vadim Naumov – on the plane. Their son, Maxim, 23, is part of Team USA, and is said to have been at the camp. It’s not clear whether he was also on the flight.
The International Olympic Committee has also issued a statement on the incident, with President Thomas Bach expressing his condolences. He said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic air accident in Washington DC. On behalf of the IOC, and personally, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those affected, which we understand may include Olympians, young athletes, and their support staff.
” Our thoughts are with all the victims, their families and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. “The flight, AA5342 crashed into the military helicopter, H60, above the Potomac River as it made its final decent into Ronald Raegan National Airport. A temporary morgue has since been set up close to the river as more than 300 responders continue to work to recover the bodies of those who died in the collision.
Following the incident, the airport grounded all flights and halted all incoming flights. But Ronald Reagan Airport is scheduled to reopen within the next hour as flights gradually begin to take off and land again.
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Source: Mirror
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