Northern Virginia residents are still reeling from the news of Wednesday’s tragic aircraft collision at Reagan National Airport that claimed the lives of 67 people. Many of the victims lived in the NoVA area.
American Airlines has not released the names of the 60 passengers and four crew members aboard Flight 5342. However, many local relatives have confirmed that their family members were aboard the plane. And Fairfax and Loudoun County Public School officials have confirmed that current and former students, parents, and staff were on the flight.
Members of the Figure Skating Community
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that several of its members were returning from a development camp held after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. Local residents include:
- Franco Aparicio. A donation site for the family of the Fairfax County skater and his father, Luciano Aparicio, states they were both aboard the plane. “Franco will always be remembered as a gracious, disciplined and kind-hearted figure skater who pursued excellence in everything he did,” the post reads. “Luciano was the embodiment of a true skating dad—always present, always cheering, always offering encouragement to his children and their friends.”
- Brielle and Justyna Beyer. Loudoun County figure skater Brielle Beyer, 12, and her mother, Justyna Magdalena Beyer, were on board the flight, according to NBC News. Andy Beyer said of his wife and daughter, who had overcome a cancer as a baby: “They outshined me in every way. And I loved it. They were my everything.”
- Cory, Roger, and Stephanie Haynos. The TODAY show reported that Fairfax County residents Corey and his parents, Roger and Stephanie, were on the flight. According to The New York Times, Haynos completed the difficult triple axel jump at the national development camp on the same day of the plane crash. U.S. Figure Skating coach Mark Mitchell told The New York Times: “When I saw him, I just said, ‘Oh, my gosh! Cory just landed the triple axel!’ And he was so happy, just so happy.”
- Livingston Family. Ashburn residents Donna Smojice Livingston and Peter Livingston, their 14-year-old daughter, Everly, and 11-year-old daughter, Alydia, were returning from the national development camp, relatives confirmed to the Pennsylvania’s WJAC. The girls had more than 20,000 followers on their Instagram account, @ice_skating_sisters.
- Olivia Eve Ter. Prince George’s County, Maryland, resident Olivia Eve Ter, 12, had attended the U.S. Figure Skating training camp in Wichita, NBC4 reported. “The impact of Olivia’s life will continue to resonate in our youth sports community, and she will be sorely missed,” Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation said in a statement.
- Inna Volanskay. Volanskay competed internationally before joining the The Ashburn Ice House coaching staff. “She was one of the best skaters I’ve ever seen, honestly. She was one of the best pair girls to skate,” Volyanskaya’s ex-husband, Ross Lansel, told News4.
- Eddie Zhou of Fairfax County and his parents were also on the flight, neighbors and coworkers told The New York Times. Like Haynos, Zhou was able to perform a triple axel at the national development camp.
Maryland Friends on Hunting Trip
ABC News reported that seven friends from Maryland were heading back from an annual hunting trip. The men were members of local unions representing workers in the heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, and process piping industries. Friend Megan Davey knew some of the victims. She stated: “It’s a real loss and it’s gonna be tough, especially with their younger families.” NBC4 has reported that members of the group included:
- Jonathan Boyd was a steamfitter in the UA Local 602 group and had been with the union for two decades.
- Alexander “Alex” Huffman, 34, had worked for the local union for nine years.
- Steve Johnson was a member of UA Steamfitters Local 602.
- Charles “Charlie” McDaniel, 44, was a members of the UA Local 602.
- Jesse Pitcher, 30, was a steamfitter with UA Local 5.
- Mikey Stovall also worked as a steamfitter and was part of Steamfitters UA Local 602.
- Tommy Clagget, 38, was an executive vice president of Gaghan Mechanical.
Other Victims with Local Ties
- Asra Hussain of DC resident was the “kindest person I’ve ever met,” her husband, Hamaad Raza, told NBC News, “She went above and beyond and then took a giant leap over that when it came to doing things for other people, for me, for her parents, for my parents.”
- Sarah Lee Best, 33, was an associate at the Wilkinson Stekloff law firm in DC. Her husband, Daniel Solomon, told The Washington Post that she was a hard worker, but she always found time for kind gestures.
- Kiah Duggins was slated to start as a professor at the Howard University School of Law in the fall. Her parents confirmed to NBC News that she was one of the passengers on the plane. She most recently worked at the Civil Rights Corp, where she litigated “on behalf of movements challenging unconstitutional policing and money bail practices in Tennessee, Texas, and, Washington, DC,” according to the Civil Rights Corps website.
- Elizabeth “Liz” Keys, a DC-based attorney, died on her 33rd birthday, her partner, David Seidman, told The Washington Post. “It’s hard to imagine the hole that Liz left will ever be filled,” Seidman said. “She was such a star.”
- Ryan O’Hara, 28, was from Arlington County. He was the crew chief on the Black Hawk helicopter that was part of Wednesday’s crash. He was a “wonderful kid” his father, Gary O’Hara, told The Washington Post.
Feature image via Everly & Alydia Livingston/Instagram
