This article is published on CNN website: https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/plane-crash-dca-potomac-washington-dc-01-29-25/index.html
A skating coach and two youth skaters from Delaware died in plane collision
Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov, Sean Kay, and Angela Yang all from Delaware died in the DC plane crash, State Senator Chris Coons said.
“I’m devastated to hear the news that at least three Delawareans died during last night’s air collision. Sasha Kirsanov, Sean Kay, and Angela Yang went to Wichita to pursue their passion for figure skating,” Coons posted on X Thursday. “It is a tragedy that none of them returned home to our state. Delaware is a state of neighbors, and tonight we hold all of our neighbors a little closer. My heart goes out to Sasha’s wife Natalia, the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club, and every other Delawarean touched by the three of them.”
Kirsanov’s wife, Natalia Gudin, also confirmed the three deaths to Delaware Online/The News Journal. She said that Kay and Yang were an amazing team and had such a big future ahead.
“For me, it’s a triple loss,” Gudin said. CNN has reached out to her for comment but has not heard back.
University of Delaware President Dennis Assanis said that Kirsanov was a former skating coach for the school’s figure skating club.
“At this time, we are aware that Sasha Kirsanov, a former UD Figure Skating Club coach, was on the airplane,” he said in a statement posted on the university’s website Thursday. “We believe two young skaters who were members of the UD Figure Skating Club also were on board.”
“Kirsanov and the skaters trained at the University’s High Performance Training Center, which uses UD ice rink facilities and has been the training home for many years of multiple world-class skating champions and competitors. The figure skating community is tight-knit, and many of our students and coaches have trained and competed alongside those who were lost.”
The school’s figure skating club president, Melissa Maldonado, said “Sasha was more than just a coach – he was a mentor, a friend, and a light in the skating world. His passing for this sport was contagious, and his kindness, wisdom, and unwavering belief in his skaters helped so many of us grow both on and off the ice.”