They were among 60 travelers and four crew members on board the commercial flight late Wednesday when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter , which was carrying three soldiers. Officials say there were no survivors. As the search for remains continued Thursday, communities grieved.
Faith leaders held a vigil Thursday in the city council chambers. Paul AME Church. American Airlines set up a hotline as well as centers in Washington and Wichita for people searching for information about family members who may have been aboard the downed flight. The hotline can be reached at Four crew members were onboard the American Airlines flight, which was traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Reagan National. One of the pilots was identified by his father as year-old Samuel Lilley.
Ian Epstein, a year-old flight attendant for American Airlines, was also identified as one of the victims by his sister. Han and Lane, who was about 16, were returning from the U. Figure Skating Championships. In a statement, the Lane family recalled Christine Lane for both her singular talents and her dedication to parenting. Their coaches, Shishkova and Naumov, won the pairs title at the world championships in Chiba, Japan.
The Russia-born pair also competed twice in the Olympics. Skating organizations in Philadelphia and the Washington area also said some of their young athletes had been aboard the plane. Several athletes on the flight had attended a development camp held after the U. Suhas Subramanyam confirmed. Cedarville University in Ohio said one of the passengers on the plane was Grace Maxwell, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. Grace Maxwell had been working on project this semester to create a hand-stabilizing device to help a boy in the area feed himself instead of rely on others, the university said in a statement.
Three other students from schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, and six parents from the district were also on board the plane, superintendent Michelle Reid said in a letter to families. She did not identify them, but she said the students were from different schools and that two of the parents were current or former district staffers.
