Life is uncertain and the sporting community was once again reminded of this fact. In a nightmarish incident, two aircraft collided against each other in the early hours of 30th January, which had left the sporting community shellshocked. The terrible flight disaster near Washington, D.C., has left Mikaela Shiffrin heartbroken, along with the rest of the world.

The crash was the result of a collision involving the American Airlines 5342 and a US Army Sikorsky H-60 helicopter. It has left athletic spheres devastated with multiple casualties. The passenger plane, containing 60 passengers and four crew members, crashed down into the Potomac River after breaking up while the helicopter carrying three soldiers became inverted before plummeting into the water.

As the news unfolded, it became clear that several figure skaters were aboard the plane, including 14 American skaters like Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, as well as Russian athletes Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. The tragic event has deeply affected all members of figure skating and athletics. The continuous efforts of rescue teams throughout the night shifted toward recovery operations after it became certain that no survivors existed.

Mikaela Shiffrin, still recovering from her crash in Vermont, took to Instagram and re-shared a post of an ESPN update about the crash, which included details about the skaters and their families who were aboard the flight. In her heartfelt post, Shiffrin wrote, “My heart goes to the entire figure skating community,” offering her support to those affected by this unimaginable loss. But other U.S. legends also joined in to offer support.

Mikaela Shiffrin and the sports community united in grief

Allyson Felix, the most decorated track and field athlete with 11 Olympic medals, recently shared sad news on Instagram. She reposted a message from Katie Couric about the plane crash. In the post, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser gave an update on the situation, saying that both aircraft had ended up in the water.

She continued, “We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident, and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.” Felix’s caption was simple yet powerful: “This is absolutely heartbreaking.” 

Simone Biles’ former coach, Cecile Landi, also expressed her heartbreak over the tragedy, sharing a message of support for those affected. She reshared a post from U.S. Figure Skating announcing the crash and added her own heartfelt caption: “Thinking of everyone involved in this tragedy,” along with a sad and emotional crying emoji, showing the depth of her sorrow.

In addition, Ilia Malinin, the reigning world and national champion in men’s figure skating, also took to social media to share his grief. “I’m heartbroken by the tragic loss of my fellow skaters in this devastating accident,” he wrote on Instagram. “The figure skating community is a family, and this loss is beyond words. My thoughts are with their families, friends, and everyone affected. We will never forget them.”

So far, several names of skaters involved in the crash have been revealed, like Evgenia Shishkova, Vadim Naumov, Spencer Lane, Jinna Than, Eddie Zhou, Beverly Livingston, Liyia Livingston, Franco Aparicio, Inna Volyanskaya, Sean Kay, and Angela Yang. The loss is felt not just by their families but by the entire community. And famous names like Mikaela Shiffrin have shown their solidarity towards the victims.