The young figure skaters whose lives were cut tragically short Wednesday night when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River were just beginning their journeys to stardom.

Pittsburgh's figure skating community has been hit hard by the midair DC plane crash which killed a number of up-and-coming ice skaters from across the country. That includes Sara Sebring, a 16-year-old figure skater who trains at the ice rink at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center.

Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River in Washington on Wednesday night, the Kremlin and state media said.