Figure skating community hosts vigil for plane crash victims killed in mid-air collision
It was a somber night at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum as dozens of people came together to remember and mourn the lives lost on the American Airlines plane that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) -- It was a somber night at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum as dozens of people came together to remember and mourn the lives lost on the American Airlines plane that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night.
"It all comes together here tonight and sort of one of the areas where skating has had such a long legacy. Figure Skating in Colorado Springs has long been a tradition," said Justin Dillon, U.S. Figure Skating's Senior Director of Athlete High Performance.
Dillon said he had just come home from Wichita, Kansas after a week-and-a-half of the U.S. Championships and the figure skating camp, when he got the news of the crash in Washington, D.C.
People placed flowers next to pictures of the victims (KDVR). 
Before the vigil started, people has the opportunity to pay their respects to the athletes, coaches and parents who lost their lives (KDVR). 
The vigil spread the message that it is okay to grieve and lean on others for support (KDVR). 
One attendee sheds tears during the vigil (KDVR).
"Immediately, the threads of text messages began where all of our skating family came together to try to put the pieces together who possibly could’ve been on that flight and just trying to confirm that those individuals actually took that airline," Dillon said.
In the days following, he said the figure skating community came together to begin organizing vigils and places for them to mourn and remember the lives lost. On Monday evening, people arrived at the museum bringing flowers, cards and kind words to share.
Some knew some of the people onboard that plane or felt shared grief through the closeness of the sport. The hope through the vigil was to spread peace and the message that it is okay to grieve, but never forget.
"We’ll be grieving for a long time and I think we just need to continue to reach out, support one another," Dillon said.
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