PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Family and friends gathered at the University of Delaware Saturday to celebrate the lives of a beloved skating coach, two young skaters, and their parents who died late last month when their passenger jet collided with an army helicopter at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
It was a somber viewing and funeral service at the university’s Fred Rust Arena.
Situated on the ice rink were the caskets for skating coach Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov, skaters Sean Elijah Kay and Angela Yang, and their parents, Julia Kay and Zheheng “Lily” Li.
Mourners filed in and out sharing memories and looking at a slideshow of all the victim’s photos and names from 8 a.m. to noon.
After, the Delaware State Police Pipe and Drum Unit played music as the caskets were brought out to hearses.
A procession then began to a New Castle cemetery, where they will be laid to rest.
The five honored Saturday were among 67 people killed in the Jan. 29 plane crash. The American Airlines flight was carrying a number of competitive figure skaters and coaches from Wichita, Kansas, where the U.S. Figure Skating Championships National Development Camp had been held.