How many Boston Skating Club members died in 1961 skating plane crash? DC tragedy evokes painful memories for historic club

The Skating Club of Boston suffered its second aviation catastrophe after a tragic airplane collision claimed the lives of six club members. On January 30, 2025, six members of the Skating Club of Boston lost their lives after their U.S. military helicopter collided with an American Airlines plane near Washington D.C., Earlier, the entire U.S. skating team died in a plane crash after a figure skating aviation disaster in 1961.

Sabena Flight 548 suffered a fatal crash near Brussels Airport as it descended from takeoff on February 15, 1961, causing the death of 72 passengers, including every member of the United States skating team en route to the Prague World Figure Skating Championships.

The aircraft took off from Idlewild Airport (now JFK) in New York City while carrying the full complement of 72 passengers before continuing to Brussels. The US figure skating team comprised 34 passengers, including 18 skaters, six coaches, and team officials, together with judges and family members.

Some of the notable victims of this crash included:

Maribel Vinson Owen–– nine times US women's champion and a coach.

Laurence Owen–– Maribel's daughter and former U.S. ladies' champion.

Bradley Lord–– The U.S. men's champion at that time.

Diane Sherbloom and Larry Pierce–– U.S. ice dance champions.

The aircraft encountered technical problems when it was nearing landing and crashed 1.9 miles northeast of Brussels. The cause of the crash was a probable malfunction in the flight control system.

The analysis followed the accident and pointed toward the likely malfunction of the tail stabilizer control system as the primary cause of the fatal control break. Despite extensive inquiries, the exact cause remained undetermined.

The Commission concluded that a material failure within the flying controls could have led to the stabilizer running to an extreme nose-up position, contributing to the aircraft's inability to maintain altitude during its final approach.

Doug Zeghibe, the Skating Club of Boston's CEO was quoted as saying by CBS News:

“Almost half of everybody on board that plane were with this club.”

"It had long-reaching implications for the Skating Club and for the sport in this country…Because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well. It's been a long time in redeveloping it."

---

Recent plane crash details

The latest crash was American Airlines Flight 5342, which had 60 passengers and four crew members on board while returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in Wichita, Kansas.

Six of the victims—two instructors, two skaters, and two mothers—were affiliated with the Boston club, according to Zeghibe.

The victims included 13-year-old Jinna Han and 16-year-old Spencer Lane, with their mothers and two coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

The plane crashed with a Black Hawk helicopter just as it was to land at Reagan National Airport near 9 PM local time.

According to reports, no one survived the crash.

Alumna of the Skating Club of Boston and a two-time Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan expressed utter devastation after a fatal plane crashed.

At the January 30, 2025, news conference, Kerry appeared visibly devastated as tears welled up while talking to members of the media and fellow skaters.

Kerrigan was quoted as saying by NBC News:

“We just wanted to be here and be part of our community.”

“I feel for the athletes, the skaters, the families, but anyone that was on that plane — not just the skaters. It’s such a tragic event. We’ve been through tragedies before as Americans, as people, and we are strong. It’s how we respond to it. My response was to be with people I care about and I love and I needed to support.”

Since its establishment in 1912, the Boston Skating Club has become one of the oldest figure skating institutions in the United States.

The organization has actively supported U.S. Figure Skating, which helped develop the sport while producing numerous national and global champions across its century-long history.