Dick Button, a two-time Olympic champion in figure skating, embodied the sport. He is the 'godfather of this sport,' Tara Lipinski once said.

Sam Lilley, a young fiancé awaiting his fall wedding, was piloting the American Airlines flight that was minutes away from a safe landing when a collision with an Army helicopter plunged both aircrafts and everyone on board into Virginia’s Potomac River.

"Several members" of the U.S. figure skating community were on American Airlines Flight 5342, according to U.S. Figure Skating.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champ was also an influential broadcaster for more than five decades.

The European figure skating championships have carried on, even as the skating world mourned athletes who died when an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Evgenia Shishkova and her husband Vadim Naumov were from Russia but lived in Norwood, Massachusetts, close to where they coached.

The U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place Jan. 21-26 in Wichita, Kansas. U.S. Figure Skating did not identify any of the members of its team that were on board. Doug Zeghib

In addition to winning two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, he helped transform a niche sport into the showpiece of every Winter Olympics.

Figure skaters, family, and coaches are among the dead from Wednesday night's mid-air collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter in DC.

The figure skating world is mourning the tragic loss of 14 elite skaters in the DC plane crash. Swimming World is donating 50% of subscription proceeds to support the victims' families. Join us in honoring their legacy—subscribe today to make a difference.

Figure skating community in mourning after mid-air collision; 14 members of the figure skating community were on board the American Airlines Flight involved in the mid-air collision.