Young family of four among victims wiped out in DC plane crash
A Virginia family of four were among the victims of the devastating American Airlines crash on Wednesday night in Washington, DC.
The Livingstons, from Ashburn, were on their way home from Wichita, Kansas, after 11-year-old Alydia and 14-year-old Everly had participated in the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships.
The two sisters died in the horrific crash on Flight 5342 alongside their dad, Peter, and their mom, Donna.
Family friend Kim Urban told CNN that the girls were ‘promising young skaters,’ and that Donna was active in the girls’ lives and Peter was an avid hockey player.
‘The Livingstons were just – they were just a big personality family. They were loving, they were thoughtful. Donna and Peter were extraordinarily supportive parents,’ Urban said.
‘They were loving parents. They were doing anything for their children. Alydia and Everly were, like, bright children, very talented skaters and super bubbly.’
Urban said her own children had skated with the two girls and were devastated by the news.
Everly had big skating dreams. In November 2023, she told Fox News: ‘My goals are to actually be a part of Team USA and travel around the world.’
Members of the Livingston family – parents Peter and Donna, and their daughters, Alydia and Everly – were on their way home from Wichita, Kansas after the girls participated in the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships
Sisters Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11, and ‘just loved skating so much,’ a family friend said. ‘When they weren’t skating, they were roller skating’
‘They were loving parents,’ a family friend said of Peter and Donna Livingston. ‘They were doing anything for their children’
Chilling minute-by-minute timeline of tragic DC plane crash
The girls posted a heartbreaking final message on their shared Instagram account while at the Intrust Bank Arena, which hosted the 2025 Championships.
Posing together, they wrote: ‘If you look closely at Alydia’s badge… We were born ready for this but is @usfigureskating ready for this much Livingston at Nationals?’
Another family friend, Cassandra Atkins, said she had designed several of the girls skating outfits.
‘Donna was just like the most perfect mom,’ Atkins told WFLA. ‘She really was… [T]hose girls were everything to her, the center of her whole universe.’
Atkins said the girls wanted to stand out on the ice and chose brighter colors than typically picked by other girls their age.
‘They just loved skating so much. When they weren’t skating, they were roller skating, or they had wheels on their boots. They were always able to figure out a way.’
Donna and Peter showcased their daughter’s successes at the Championships, sharing plenty of photos of the girls on and off the ice.
Alydia was set to start with a new partner in pairs skating, Donna wrote in her last Facebook post: ‘A bit of exciting news to share! A new life change for Alydia has taken place. New year, new partner, new journey.
Interview with teen figure skater before she died in DC plane crash
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The girls posted a heartbreaking final message on their shared Instagram account while competing at the 2025 Championships: ‘If you look closely at Alydia’s badge… We were born ready for this but is @usfigureskating ready for this much Livingston at Nationals?’
Figure skating sisters who died in DC plane crash perform at ice rinks
‘The Livingston’s were just – they were just a big personality family. They were loving, they were thoughtful. Donna and Peter were extraordinarily supportive parents,’ a family friend said
The girls’ parents showcased their daughter’s successes at the 2025 Championships, sharing plenty of photos of the girls on and off the ice
‘Yep we saw it!’ Chilling audio seconds after DC plane crash
‘She is super excited to be competing this season with Matt. Still a travel away for us, but we couldn’t ask for a nicer family and better opportunity for her. Introducing Team Alydia & Matt!’
The family went away for a family vacation to Disney World and Universal Studios in late December shortly before heading off to the Championships in Kansas.
The Livingstons were among the 67 people killed in the collision between the American Airlines flight and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter.
At least 28 bodies, including three soldiers who were on the helicopter, have been pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River as recovery operations continued Friday morning.
Of the 60 passengers aboard the flight, 14 were figure skaters, including six members of the Skating Club of Boston, alongside parents and coaches.
NBC broadcasters and former figure skaters Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski were both broadcasting the 2025 European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia on Thursday when they addressed the incident.
A choked-up Weir began the broadcast: ‘As we come on air for the European Figure Skating Championships, we are all hurting today. We were absolutely heartbroken by the news that several members of our skating community were among those lost in the tragic plane crash in Washington, DC last night.’
Weir then proceeded to read statements from US Figure Skating, the International Skating Union, and a word from International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.
NBC broadcasters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir both broke down on air as they read tributes to the victims while covering the European Figure Skating Championships
Figure skaters remember six friends who were killed in air tragedy
Lipinski then spoke through sobs, calling the situation ‘unimaginable.’
‘My heart is completely broken for our skating community, their families and loved ones. My heart is with all the families affected and that’s the part I have no words for.
‘It will not do it justice,’ she said, adding that the ‘skating community will never be the same,’ but the victims will always be remembered.
Weir added that they were determined ‘to make sure that everyone’s spirit lives on’ and that it was ‘a tremendous loss that our community feels.’
‘Today, my whole heart is with everybody affected by this terrible tragedy,’ he said. ‘We are so devastated for your loss.’
At the event, a long moment of silence was held in memory of those who lost their lives.
