US Figure Skating announced that several athletes and coaches were onboard the fateful American Airlines flight, including a Disney On Ice star, which was identified during the search for the bodies in the Potomac River, a US official confirmed.
The athletes and coaches were returning from the National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas, only to be met with a mid-air collision as they were nearing the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
More about the Disney On Ice star
Inna Volyanskaya, 59, was a former Soviet figure skater and was also a figure skating coach, tutoring young skaters at the Washington Figure Skating Club.
Volyanskaya was a Disney On Ice who starred as Princess Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel, as per her biography.
Her Soviet Union days
Volyanskaya was the lead in Tatiana Tarasova’s ice theatre troupe, Russian All-Stars, where she performed in numerous global shows.
Additionally, She competed for the Soviet Union in the 1980s as a skater where she had a partner and they competed as a pair.
She later began coaching
Volanskaya wasn’t only a figure skater, she also specialized in many other things such as jump technique, choreography, moves in the field, spins, off-ice conditioning, and stroking. All this made her begin her coaching career in 2002.
Her ex-husband paid tribute
Her ex-husband Ross Lansel dubbed Volanskaya “one of the best skaters he’s ever seen,” telling News4: “Just knowing the impact she made to all the skaters and everyone just hurts my soul.” He understood how much she and the kids meant for one another.
He sent his condolences to the kids
“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,” he continued.
“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 also added.
Hockey coach Serguei Kouznetsov also paid his tribute
Kouznetsov told FOX 13 he knew Volyanskaya as a fellow Soviet Union immigrant. He also said to the outlet: “Very good people, very driven, focused on the particular task of figure skating, and completely dedicated. (She was at the) rink all day. Nothing else mattered.”
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Her last digital footprint
Her last Instagram post was that of happy moments in Kansas, saying in the caption: “Congratulations on Everly and Franco for making it to the national development camp for their second year! So proud of all their hard work and training they have done to get here. What an amazing way to start off the year!”
The US governing body for figure skating released a statement
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available,” the governing body said in a statement.
Authorities are still looking into it
What began as a rescue mission sadly turned into a recovery mission. President Donald Trump confirmed at a White House press conference on January 30 what no one wanted to hear, that there were “no survivors” expected to be found.
Not the only identified victim
Among the other victims in the tragic American Airlines crash were sisters Everly and Alydia Livingston, aged 14 and 11, whose tutor was Volyanskaya. In addition, their parents Peter and Donna Livingston were also on the flight, and they all sorrowfully passed away.
