Ross Lansel, skate coach at Skate Quest in Reston, Virginia, lost his ex-wife in the plane crash outside DCA on Wednesday night. He speaks about the tragic losses across the skating community.
Northern Virginia's figure skating community is reeling after receiving the news that a coach and multiple young skaters from the area were killed when an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport Wednesday evening.
Officials believe everyone on both aircraft died. A recovery operation is underway.
Inna Volyanskaya, a skating coach at Ashburn Ice House, was one of the crash victims, Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said on social media. A former pair skater for the Soviet Union, Volyanskaya performed all over the world and played Ariel in Disney on Ice's "The Little Mermaid" before becoming a coach in 2002, according to her ex-husband and her online coaching bio.
"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.
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Lansel, a coach at Skate Quest in Reston, said his heart broke for the children Volyanskaya coached.
"Just knowing the impact she made to all the skaters and everyone just hurts my soul and just I wish all those kids that she taught, just my condolences and I wish them — all my prayers go out to them. I wish them the best of life and everything because I know it's going to be so hard without her. It's tough because as a figure skating coach, you mean a lot to these kids and you're like the individual person for them," he said.
Skating club leaders in the region confirmed to News4 that multiple young skaters from Northern Virginia were on the plane that crashed near Reagan National Airport. They said at least some of the skaters had family members with them on the flight.
"There's a lot of kids from Ashburn. I mean, most of them are under 12 years old," Lansel said while fighting tears.
News4 has not independently confirmed the ages of the victims and as of Thursday afternoon, it was still too early to report any of the young skaters' names.
"It's tough, you know. They're gone. That's what kills me is these kids because I work with kids all day. Just one of those things where you don't want to see anyone go through this," Lansel said.
Fairfax County Public Schools said three of its students and six parents were on the passenger plane. The school system said two of the parents were also current or former staff members for FCPS.
"Many are reaching out to share their sorrow and emotions at this difficult time. We are hearing from students, staff members, and others in the community who are expressing their care and concern for those who have lost loved ones. I invite you to join me in keeping all those affected by this deep community loss in our prayers," Superintendent Michelle C. Reid said.
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A young girl who skates at the Ashburn Ice House said she lost four of her friends in the plane crash. Volyanskaya had been her coach for more than a year, she said.
"I look after those people and they were my inspiration," 10-year-old Alexis Winch told News4 outside the facility Thursday afternoon.
Winch's father, Jeff Winch, said he and his wife realized they knew some of the people who were on the plane after seeing news coverage of the crash Wednesday night.
"And when we put two and two together it was after 11 p.m., and then, you know, my wife just busted up. She was completely destroyed," he said.
"This morning at 6:30 we got up. We said we gotta tell her before she goes to school. We don't want her to hear from anybody else at school. So we had a conversation this morning. At first she didn't quite understand what we were trying to tell her and then I was a little more blunt with, you know, 'You lost friends last night,'" Jeff Winch said.
He said they came to the ice house Thursday to grieve.
"I'm surprised when I walked in here just now to see it almost empty with the exception of [my daughter] just trying to forget out there on the ice just now practicing," he said.
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"It's been a long night for us, myself and all the staff here in the building," Ashburn Ice House General Manager Rob Lorenzen told News4. "The skating community's a small, tight-knit community, whether it's our rink, neighboring rinks; the skating community is very small, and certainly here within this building, the skating community's a tight community, and this is affecting a lot of the individuals in that community."
Numerous bouquets and vases of flowers filled a table in the entryway of Ashburn Ice House from people who stopped by Thursday to grieve for the crash victims.
"It's hard to see my staff struggle. It's hard to see the other coaches struggling," Lorenzen said. "At this point in the day today, that ice is normally bustling with skaters, and there's no one here today,"
He said the skaters who participated in the program in Wichita were exemplary.
"They're young. They're all young in the skating industry and they all have big goals," Lorenzen said.
A group from the Skating Club of Northern Virginia (SCNV) were also onboard the flight, the club said. Their names have not been released.
"As SCNV awaits details, we mourn the loss of cherished members of our skating family. We will never forget their dedication to the sport, the friendships they built, and the joy they brought to the ice," the club said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
Loudoun County Public Schools said in a statement that multiple crash victims were former LCPS students.
"Our hearts are heavy as we process the devastating news ... This unimaginable loss has deeply affected our community, and with great sorrow, we have learned that multiple victims were former LCPS students. Many other Loudoun families have also been impacted, and we extend our deepest condolences to all those grieving in the wake of this tragedy," Superintendent Aaron Spence said in a letter to families and staff.
This is a developing story. Please continue to refresh for updates.