'They're very rare': Family lost in DC plane crash dedicated lives to figure skating
A Virginia family of four who dedicated their lives to figure skating and each other were among the victims who died in Wednesday's devastating plane crash near Reagan National Airport.
Business executive Donna Livingston and husband Peter Livingston, who worked in real estate, were both onboard American Airlines Flight 5342 alongside their daughters Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11. The family was returning from a figure skating event in Wichita, Kansas, and heading to their home in Ashburn, Virginia, when their airplane collided in midair with an Army helicopter in an accident that left 67 people dead.
The young sisters spent a bulk of their lives on the ice, with Everly and Alydia's skating careers beginning before they turned 5, according to Donna's close friend Dalal Badri, who talked to Paste BN about the family.
Badri said she watched the girls grow up at Virginia's Ashburn Ice House, where her son Adam was paired as Alydia's skating partner since she was 3. The sisters followed in the footsteps of their father Peter, who previously skated at the Fairfax Ice Arena, about 25 miles southeast from the Ashburn rink.
"Everly was such a shy girl, but so focused and she just opened up and lit up when she got on the ice," Badri said. "Alydia was just always laughing and joking and smiling. She would always pop a joke, even if she had a straight face and was the kind of person that always wanted to make others laugh."
'You can't find a lot of dedicated skating families'
Peter and Donna always put their daughters before themselves, Badri said. From near-constant traveling and finding private ice rinks to enrolling in online home schooling, the parents were their daughters' biggest champions.
"He was such a dedicated father. No matter what. He would always, always make time for them so they can skate," Badri told Paste BN. "You can't find a lot of dedicated skating families. They're very rare. But Donna was willing to do anything. And if we couldn't figure out how we're going to do this she was like, 'Don't worry. We'll make it work.''"
The parents would take Everly to see one coach in Philadelphia, another in Virginia and then a choreographer in Delaware, according to Badri.
The girls competed across the country, both winning several regional championships.
They thrived at both figure and roller skating, excelling in various disciplines from solo dancing to freestyling. The parents proudly shared their success on Instagram page @ice_skating_sisters, which has over 20,000 followers.
Badri recalled speaking to Donna about 48 hours before the flight, revealing that Alydia had completed a high-development camp and would be progressing to a training camp ahead of the next competition stage.
"They would travel everywhere, just for the kids. I can't tell you how dedicated of a family they were, just for the kids," she said. "The skating community lost by losing the Livingstons."
Everly's Coach was also onboard the flight
Everly's coach Inna Volyanskaya, 59, was also among the victims of the Flight 5342 crash, according to Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam.
A former competitor for both Belarus and Russia, Volyanskaya skated with Valery Spiridonov, whose son, Anton, now represents the U.S. in ice dance. She has worked as an athlete for the Washington Figure Skating Club and as a Disney on Ice performer.
By 2002, she began her coaching career, teaching a wide range of skaters from novices to elite competitors, according to an online biography.
Volyanskaya shared a congratulatory Instagram post Wednesday for Everly and young skater Franco Aparicio for their second consecutive year participating in the U.S. Figure Skating's national development camp. The three-day camp was held in Wichita, Kansas following the national championships that through Sunday.
Volyanskaya wrote alongside a photo of herself with Aparicio and Everly: "So proud of all their hard work and training they have done to get here."
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Paste BN