This week, the nation was rocked by a heartbreaking tragedy: 67 people were killed in the deadliest U.S. airline disaster in 24 years.
Two young figure skating talents whose lives were brutally cut short, 11-year-old Angela Yang and 12-year-old Sean Kay, were among the youngest victims.
Their passing serves as a poignant reminder of how swiftly life can change, both within and outside of the skating community.
The youngest victims
On January 29 at approximately 9 p.m., a regional plane that had just left Wichita, Kansas, and was heading for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in midair.
According to reports, all 67 of the accident’s victims have perished.
Two young ice dance partners, Angela Yang and Sean Kay, who are thought to be 11 and 12 years old, have been identified as the crash’s youngest casualties.
The two were characterized as “undefeated in juvenile ice dance this season” in an obituary posted on Facebook by a skating association.
The pair had been unbeaten in juvenile ice dancing this season and had just won several categories at the 2025 Midwestern Sectional Singles and US Ice Dance tournament in Texas.
Inspired by her siblings’ love of ice hockey, Angela Yang started skating early and advanced through the ranks fast. The young girl began her skating career as a solo dancer, but she always aspired to skate with a partner, according to The Skating Lesson. Her mother, Lily, decided to relocate from Maryland to Delaware in order to support her in pursuing her love of skating, and she started homeschooling Angela. While her mother devoted herself to raising their three children and encouraging Angela’s aspirations, her father remained in China.
On the ice, Sean Kay was always a natural. He was the second oldest of four siblings, all of whom skated, and he swiftly outperformed his older sister and his colleagues. He later won juvenile and intermediate solo dancing competitions on the national scene. As Sean’s abilities developed further, he intended to compete with Angela in the intermediate category the following season and advance to the junior level of solo dancing.
Sean Kay won first place in the Excel Juvenile Plus Boys category of the 2023 Excel Series Final, according to the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club.
Angela’s most recent Instagram post
Unfortunately, a number of our skating community members were on the flight, including Angela Yang and Sean Kay, who were coming home after a development camp in Kansas like many others.
Yang had shared her happiness from the Wichita camp on Instagram just hours before the disaster. “My buddies and all of the fantastic coaches will be sorely missed! I’m very excited for next year! Unaware that this would be her last post, she wrote.
Fans have been moved by Angela and Sean’s performances ever since their deaths were made public. Video from their competitions has gone viral as they enthralled audiences with their faultless routines.
Along for the ride was their teacher, Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov, 46, who also perished in the collision.
“Their future was so bright.”
In an interview with Delaware Online, his widow, Natalia Gudin, described the anguish of losing both her husband and the young athletes she regarded as family.
“Whenever we travel to a competition, we always fly with American Airlines. They’re all gone this time, and they don’t have me,” she remarked. “This youthful group, which included Angela Yang and Sean Kay, was outstanding. The judges all felt incredibly proud of themselves and their bright future. All on the same plane, too? Gudin continued, clearly grieving. “I consider it a triple loss.”
Other members of the skating community were also on board, in addition to Yang, Kay, and Kirsanov. Among them are the mothers of Boston skaters Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16. Tragically, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, the 1994 World Champion duo, also perished in the collision.
According to Pennsylvania television station WTAJ, American Airlines Flight 5342 also carried Donna Smojice Livingston, her husband Peter, and their two skating kids, Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11.
The ice skating community will always remember these gifted young people whose potential was brutally cut short, and this tragedy serves as a reminder of how fleeting life is.
We remember their commitment, their promise, and the happiness they offered to so many others while we grieve. During this extremely trying time, our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends, and the whole figure skating community.
