Washington, DC, airline tragedy recalls two devastating plane crashes that rocked sports world

Former assistant FBI director Chris Swecker on whether the collision between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport could have been intentional.

An American Airlines flight that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter resulting in one of the most devastating airline disasters in decades hearkened back to two tragedies.

On Wednesday night, several members associated with U.S. Figure Skating and their families were on the aircraft that collided with the helicopter. At least six had ties to the Skating Club of Boston, located in Norwood, Massachusetts.

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Emergency response units respond to the crash site of an American Airlines plane and Black Hawk helicopter on the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday, January 30, 2025. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)

The figure skating community has felt the effects of an airline tragedy in the past.

Eighteen members of the U.S. figure skating team were killed in a plane crash in Berg-Kampenhout, Belgium on their way to Prague for the World Figure Skating Championships. Laurence Owen and Steffi Westerfield were among those killed in the crash. They were considered to be rising stars in the sport and were preparing for an Olympic bid.

There were 73 people aboard Sabena Flight 548. The New York Daily News reported, citing investigators, that it was likely the jet’s stabilizers that caused the incident.

"U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C," U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement on Thursday. "These athletes, coaches,