The lives of two talented children were tragically cut short by Wednesday’s devastating plane crash.
Angela Yang and Sean Kay—a dynamic ice skating duo—had “so much fun” at the National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas, where promising skaters undergo training.
But after the training camp, the children never returned home.
Dynamic ice skating duo Angela Yang and Sean Kay were on the doomed American Airlines flight that crashed on Wednesday
Image credits: angelayangskates
Yang and Kay were among the youngest victims on the doomed American Airlines passenger plane, which collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29.
Social media posts claimed that they were only 11 years old.
Hours before her death, Yang shared moments from her time at the camp and said she was going to miss her friends and coaches.
Image credits: angelayangskates
“Had so so much fun at camp!!! I’m really gonna miss my friends and all the great coaches! I can’t wait for next year!” read the very last post that went up on the young girl’s Instagram page.
“And a thanks to @usfigureskating for organizing this camp!” she added.
Another post from her recent camp days said: “It was a lot of fun watching all the skaters at Kansas! I had a lot of fun sitting with my friends watching amazing skaters! I wish I could watch it all over again!”
“Had so so much fun at camp!!!” the young girl wrote on Instagram not long before the crash
Image credits: U.S. Figure Skating
The ice skating duo competed in the 2025 Midwestern Sectional Singles & U.S. Ice Dance in Plano, Texas, in November.
They bagged the first prize in several categories in the competition.
While in Wichita this week for the training camp, the children were accompanied by their coach, Alexandr "Sasha" Kirsanov, 46, who was also killed in the deadly plane collision.
The children traveled to Wichita with their coach, Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov, 46, for a training camp
Image credits: angelayangskates
The coach’s wife, Natalya Gudin, who said she usually travels with them, cried as she spoke about the trio’s passing.
“We always use American Airlines when we go to competition,” she told Delaware Online.
“This time they go without me, and all of them are gone,” she added.
Image credits: angelayangskates
She called the young children “amazing” with bright futures ahead of them in ice skating.
“This young team – Sean Kay and Angela Yang – they were so amazing,” Gudin said. “All the judges were so proud and they had such a big future. And what, all on the same plane?”
The bereaved wife said it’s a “triple” loss for her.
Yang fell in love with skating after watching her siblings play ice hockey. After realizing she had a passion for ice dance, her family and coaches realized she had a real talent for the sport.
After starting as a solo skater, Yang found the perfect skating partner in Kay, and the duo impressed coaches and judges on numerous occasions
Image credits: U.S. Figure Skating
She entered the arena as a solo ice dancer, but always had dreams of performing with a partner, according to a Facebook post shared by The Skating Lesson, a page for the sports and skating community with 422k followers.
Yang’s mother Lily moved with the talented child from Maryland to Delaware. She began homeschooling her so she could hone her skills on the ice rink.
Lily raised her three children and ensured Angela could pursue her dreams while their father stayed back in China.
Image credits: angelayangskates
On the other hand, Kay was described by The Skating Lesson’s post as a “natural” on the ice and one of four siblings, all of whom are skaters.
His older sister piqued his interest in ice skating, and eventually, the people around him saw that he had a special spark in the rink.
He “outskated” his sister and peers and went on to win solo dance competitions “nationally at the juvenile and intermediate levels,” the post said.
The Skating Lesson’s post claimed that both Yang and Kay’s mothers were also onboard the crashed flight. Bored Panda could not confirm their passing.
“I need my husband back,” said the deceased coach's wife. “I need his body back”
Image credits: udfsc
Both Kay and Yang were members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club, coached by Gudin and her now-deceased husband.
Gudin revealed that she spoke to her husband before the plane took off.
He said he would call her after the short flight, but instead, Gudin received a phone call from another student’s mother about a plane crash.
Several members of the ice skating community were on the American Airlines flight that collided with a US Army Black Hawk Helicopter
After realizing what happened, Gudin rushed to Washington, D.C., where she stayed in a hotel waiting to hear any news about her husband’s body.
As of Thursday afternoon, Kirsanov’s remains hadn’t been found.
“I need my husband back,” Gudin told ABC News. “I need his body back.”
Image credits: U.S. Figure Skating
All 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines flight 5342 are presumed dead, along with three soldiers who were flying in the helicopter.
“Several members of our skating community” were aboard the flight, US Figure Skating confirmed following the crash.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” said the official body for figure skating in the country.
“No words ever can describe their families' grief and sorrow,” a social media user said
