How the Washington plane crash has impacted the AA+PI figure skating community
The Asian American sporting community mourns the loss of young talent who were the future of figure skating
28 members of the figure skating community were on board American Eagle Flight 5342.
Sanit Fuangnakhon / Shutterstock.com
Words by Diamond Yao
On the evening of January 29, American Eagle Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. 67 people died, including 28 members of the figure skating community who were returning from a national development camp in Wichita, Kansas. Many of the figure skating deaths were young Asian American athletes and their families. At the time of their deaths, the Asian American skaters—Edward Zhou, Cory Haynos, Angela Yang, Spencer Lane and Jinna Han—were already extremely accomplished and were at the beginning of illustrious sporting careers. This untimely loss is deeply mourned by the Asian American sporting community.
More than a sport… a tight-knit community where Asian American athletes can flourish
Chinese-American skater Jimmy Ma, a 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist, nine-time U.S. national championship competitor and skating coach, felt like he lost family members in the plane crash. A member of the Skating Club of Boston—which lost six members in the tragedy, who were 13-year-old Korean American Han, her mother Jin Han, 16-year-old Korean American Lane, and his mother Christine Lane, as well as coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova—Ma remembers fondly the hospitality of the Han family. “They basically adopted me as a son. Whenever I'm at a crossroads, at a roadblock with anything, the parents are always there for me. The parents are always there for all of us, for whatever we need," he says of Jinna’s parents. “I didn't get to interact with Jinna too much... but, you know, as her big brother, especially on the ice, you kind of have to be a role model to her on how I carry myself, and how I train, and how I do everything.”
Ma remembers younger skaters, including many Asian American kids at the club, looking up to Han and Lane as inspirations. As all three skated at elite levels, they had a responsibility to be good role models to the younger skaters in the lower levels. “We still see these kids and we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard for them. But also, when we see how they skate and how they train, we got to step ourselves up too,” he says, emphasizing that all skaters at the club, no matter their level, mutually inspired one another.
He believes that having many Asian American athletes of all levels present at the club fostered an easygoing atmosphere of cultural connection and camaraderie that developed naturally. “As a coach, a lot of the parents, they gravitated towards me because I'm the only Chinese-speaking coach there. There's a sense of community there,” he says.
Vietnamese-Canadian artistic swimmer Laëtitia Vu was shocked at the immense loss suffered by the Asian American sporting community. The reigning provincial champion in Quebec, two-time Canadian Championships silver medalist, award-winning coach and advocate for diversity in sports believes that racism leads to fewer Asian American athletes competing at high levels and that welcoming spaces for Asian American athletes like the Skating Club of Boston are crucial for their success. “A great part of your day [as an athlete] happens in training. And when you need to face racism during those training sessions, during the events, when you always have to fight to prove that you belong, it can become really tiring,” she says. “We cannot underestimate how much [that] can discourage athletes, talents, and young people.”
A loss for the future of Asian American figure skating
Ma saw Han and Lane as the future of figure skating. Despite being older than them, Ma was personally inspired by their incredible talent and work ethic. He thinks that despite their untimely passing, they have already inspired many in the figure skating world with their passion and discipline. “Their improvement in this sport is meteoric, especially Spencer. Kid’s only skated two years, did more in two years and his adolescence than I did in almost 10. Jinna, the amount of hard work that she put into it is crazy. She would skate circles around me [compared to] when I was 13,” he says, adding that making it to that prestigious development camp—where youth who are recognized as having extreme promise in the sport are invited to sharpen their skills and meet other athletes like them—at their ages was an amazing accomplishment already. Han and Lane both hoped to make it to the Olympics and put in the work to make their dreams come true.
“When we talk about diversity in sport, especially Asian American athletes, [they have] a long history of not being recognized, being absent from international sports for various reasons. So now we're losing all of that.”
Vu grieves the loss of role models that the Asian American community suffered. “It's not only a loss of talent, but it's also a loss in terms of the future of the sport,” she says. “When we talk about diversity in sport, especially Asian American athletes, [they have] a long history of not being recognized, being absent from international sports for various reasons. So now we're losing all of that.”
The importance of representation
Christina Chin, an associate professor of sociology at Cal State Fullerton and co-editor of Asian American Sporting Cultures, emphasizes that the disaster created compound losses given how little Asian American representation there is in sports. “There's very little representation in most of the mainstream sports: basketball, baseball, soccer, football,” she says. “When we talk about Asian American representation, there's really not a lot. But where we have seen a stronger pipeline, and some amazing representation, is through figure skating.” She cites Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi, two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan and reigning Olympic champion Nathan Chen as examples. “That pipeline was really slow to start, and has slowly been getting a little bit bigger over the years. But that's mostly because there's been a strong community interest within the Asian American community in that sport,” she says, adding that Yamaguchi and Kwan started their own skating camps where Asian American youth can feel more welcome in the community. “[Asian Americans] can see themselves as Olympic athletes holding their medals, standing on the podium, where they haven't been able to see themselves in a lot of other sports.”
Chin thinks that the plane crash will disrupt the pipeline of Asian Americans going into competitive figure skating. “That's going to create this ripple effect that is going to be really hard to rebuild. The impact of the ripple effect will be especially devastating for folks who skated with these athletes, folks who trained in the same facilities, folks who saw them as a rising star, people who follow them on social media,” she says. “To no longer be able to see their athletic excellence is going to be difficult, and it's going to be a big ask for them to sort of rise up and to fill those spots.” She hopes that their legacy will encourage even younger skaters to continue to thrive and to pursue their dreams.
"You always have to not only prove your abilities, but you have to prove that you belong as well. That despite not being white, despite being Asian, you still deserve to represent your country, your community, your federation.”
Vu believes that Asian American athletes need to overcome the perception that they are not physically capable of competing at a professional level. She thinks this stereotype is the reason why it took so long to see Asian American athletes competing internationally. “The model minority has a lot to do with stereotypes as well. ‘Do not talk loud, do not overstep’ and sometimes, it's interpreted as being weak. So you always have to fight against those stereotypes, and those stereotypes become cultural and institutional,” she says. “So you always have to prove yourself more. You always have to not only prove your abilities, but you have to prove that you belong as well. That despite not being white, despite being Asian, you still deserve to represent your country, your community, your federation.”
She believes that skaters like Yamaguchi and Kwan paved the way for the athletes that were in that plane. “Because when you ... put at the front diversity, it's a statement. It’s a statement that the sport community, or the sports federation, believes in diversity and makes a statement on fighting racism. So then you open the door for younger athletes to join the sport, to be able to [see] themselves in that sport,” she says.
No politics, just solidarity and honoring the fallen
Ma is adamantly against anyone politicizing this tragedy. He believes that Trump’s comments about DEI were highly inappropriate and condemns any politician or public figure of any ideological persuasion who try to instrumentalize this disaster. “It's never sat right with me before, but when it happens to you, it feels even worse. Real lives are lost. Whatever religion you believe in, whatever God you believe in, whatever politician you support—do not make this about that,” he says, adding that people need to be in solidarity with each other at this moment. “Go to your loved ones, hug them, kiss them, and just be the best version that you could be. For yourself, first, and then for others.”
Chin also hopes that people will unite in solidarity during this crisis. “This is where other Asian American athletes, particularly, whether it's figure skating, whether it's other sports, they can really band together and form communities of support, [send] messages of support to really honor these lost athletes,” she says.
Ma believes that this tragedy will leave a big hole in U.S. figure skating that he doesn’t think will ever be filled. “We'll learn to carry on with it. But we're resilient, we'll find a way. And they would want us to find a way too,” he says. “My girlfriend and I, we always talk about how Jinna's like, ‘Come on guys!,’ excuse my language, ‘Stop being a b*tch! Just keep going. Guys, you got this!’ That's what she would tell us. So that's how we honor it."
He will carry the legacy of the fallen by skating the best that he can. “I know for a fact that…they don't want me to give up on my dream, my Olympic dream. Regardless of whatever happens, they want me to carry on... be the same big brother that I've been to [Jinna] as to everybody else,” he says. “They want me to move forward. And you know, enjoy doing what I love to do.”
Published on February 12, 2025