Two Russian figure skating coaches with strong Connecticut ties were among those killed after an American Airlines flight and Army helicopter collided and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River Wednesday night.

U.S. Figure Skating is confirming several members of its skating community are among the victims of the Washington D.C. plane crash. One local figure skater said she knows firsthand just how much these individuals meant to the sport.

A pair of young figure skaters, their mothers, and two Russian coaches were among the 60 passengers on board the jet.

The Skating Club of Boston lost two coaches, two young skaters and their two mothers in the deadly crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 in Washington, D.C.

"Several members" of the U.S. figure skating community were on American Airlines Flight 5342, according to U.S. Figure Skating.

Sam Lilley, a young fiancé awaiting his fall wedding, was piloting the American Airlines flight that was minutes away from a safe landing when a collision with an Army helicopter plunged both aircrafts and everyone on board into Virginia’s Potomac River.

The European figure skating championships have carried on, even as the skating world mourned athletes who died when an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Those involved with the University of Delaware’s High Performance Figure Skating Center have celebrated many triumphs, including in the U.S. Nationals and Olympics. On Thursday they endured the opposite extreme,

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champ was also an influential broadcaster for more than five decades.

U.S. Figure Skating is confirming several members of its skating community are among the victims of the Washington D.C. plane crash. One local figure skater said she knows firsthand just how much these individuals meant to the sport.

The figure skaters who died in Wednesday’s plane crash are mourned not just because they were young and talented but because, to anyone associated with the sport, they are part of the family.