Wednesday night’s midair collision between an airplane and Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, DC that left no survivors included a connection to the University of Delaware.
UD President Dennis Assanis confirmed in an email to the UD community that Sasha Kirsanov – a former UD Figure Skating Club coach – was among those on the airplane.
The News Journal/Delawareonline reports two young UD Figure Skating Club skaters - Angela Yang and Sean Kay - were also on board. Yang and Kay were not UD students.
Assanis adds it’s unknown at this time whether the skaters were accompanied by their parents or others.
Kirsanov and the skaters trained at the University’s High Performance Training Center according to Assanis. That training center uses UD ice rink facilities.
They were among figure skaters and coaches returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and development camp in Wichita, Kansas.
Assanis says the UD has support resources for those who need them, adding the university’s hearts go out to the families and friends of all of the victims of this horrific tragedy.
