A young figure skater on the US team who had been on the American Airlines flight that suffered a collision with a Black Hawk helicopter mid-air posted a tragic final photo to social media after boarding the plane.
26-year-old Spencer Lane had been returning home to Washington DC after being in Wichita, Kansas, to attend a National Development Camp for young skaters, reported The Sun. He was joined by other skaters on the US Olympic team, who were also aboard the bombardier CRJ700.
While the competition officially ended on Sunday, many talented skaters remained in Kansas to attend an elite training camp that was held days after.
At around 7 pm on Wednesday evening, Lane posted a photo of the American Airlines flight on the tarmac, getting ready to take off from Wichita Airport.
"ICT --> DCA," he captioned the photo, mentioning the abbreviations for Wichita Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Just hours before the collision occurred, Lane took to Instagram, posting happily about having qualified for the national development camp in November.
"It has been my goal almost ever since I became aware that it was a thing," he said.
"I learned so much new information that I can apply to my everyday life, and met so many amazing people!"
"Huge thank you to all the amazing friends, coaches, and faculty that I have met over the last week, it was such an amazing experience," he continued.
Other figure skaters were also on the flight, including Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov from Russia, Lane's mentors.
The aircraft, which shattered into three pieces following the collision, is expected to have no survivors. A total of 67 passengers had been on both aircrafts, all of whom are believed to be deceased. As of publication, 28 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River.
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