The Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe pointed out the parallels in the 1961 plane crash and the collision on Wednesday, January 29

After the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, some young athletes stayed a couple of additional days for further development.

The camp serves as a launchpad for athletes vying for their spot on Team USA in the upcoming world championships.

The tight-knit figure skating community was rocked when an American Airlines flight carrying athletes, parents and coaches from a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River.

The plane that crashed near Washington, D.C., was carrying an unknown number of passengers from the figure skating community, including Russian husband-and-wife world champions. Wichita, Kansas, had hosted several high-profile skating events in recent days.

The crash of an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter was the latest to strike the sports world in the U.S. and globally.

Once again, figure skaters representing the past, present and future of the sport perished in a catastrophic plane crash.

Outside City Hall in downtown Wichita, Kansas roses and a teddy bear were laid in remembrance of the lives lost in the plane crash in Washington D.C. They were placed here after a prayer vigil inside earlier Thursday where faith leaders shared words of encouragement to the community.

Several New England residents were on the flight that crashed at Reagan Airport on Wednesday; coaches, athletes, and family members from the Skating Club of Boston.

After several minutes of prayers and songs, the vigil was taken outside and finished at the law enforcement memorial.

Figure skaters and coaches returning from the U.S. national championships were aboard the American Airlines flight that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter.

The ties to Boston conjured up painful memories for Nathan Birch, a Baltimore skater who grew up training at that very same club. He remembered seeing memorials from the 1961 crash, which killed several Boston club members, on the walls and in an upstairs lounge.