“I don’t know how I would’ve survived this without his music.” He paused, looked down, and then broke. Before anyone in the room fully understood what he meant, the tears came — sudden, unguarded, impossible to stop. And with that, a memorial meant to honor the dead turned into a moment that revealed how the living are still trying to breathe. On January 29, 2025, 67 lives were lost when an American Airlines passenger jet collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Among the victims were 28 members of the figure skating community, returning home from the 2025 Figure Skating Championships — athletes, coaches, mentors, and family members whose absence has left a hollow silence across the sport. In the days that followed, grief arrived in waves. Vigils were held. Names were read. Flowers stacked higher by the hour. But it was during a quieter gathering — away from cameras, away from official statements — that one moment cut through everything. He stood at the podium, visibly shaking, trying to speak about the skaters he loved like family. Halfway through a sentence, his voice cracked. He stopped, pressed his lips together, and whispered, “I’m sorry.” Then he admitted something deeply personal. In the darkest nights since the crash, he said, he kept returning to the music of a legendary country artist — someone he had grown up listening to, but never thought he’d lean on like this. “It wasn’t the sad songs,” he explained through tears. “It was the ones about getting up again. About staying when it hurts.”.. WATCH FULL VIDEO BELOW 👇👇 -

Figure Skater Maxim Naumov Loses Both Parents In Fatal Crash

On January 29, 2025, 67 people were killed when an American Airlines passenger jet was struck by an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Among those who died were 28 members of the figure skating community who were returning from the 2025 Figure Skating Championships.

Skaters, parents, and coaches were listed among those who perished in the tragic crash. Maxim Naumov’s parents, 1994 World Champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were aboard that American Airlines flight.

Naumov is a gymnast-turned-ice skater three-time U.S. national medalist and the 2020 U.S. junior national champion. Just days before his parents were killed, Naumov earned a 4th place finish at the 2025 U.S. Championships. Their final social media post was expressing their pride over his accomplishment.

Maxim Naumov Selected For The U.S. Olympic Team

On Sunday (January 11), Naumov was among 16 skaters selected to the U.S. Olympic Team after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.

Naumov earned the spot after he finished third behind U.S. champion Ilia Malinin and runner-up Andrew Torgashev. Following his routine, Naumov slipped on a “USA” jacket, and the crowd gave him a roaring applause.

Team USA posted the clip, with a caption reading “FOR MOM & DAD.”

After his routine at this week’s championships, Naumov held a photo of himself as a child on skates, holding his parents’ hands.

“I thought of them immediately,” Naumov said. “I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I do feel their presence, and they are with me.”

The Olympic figure skating competition runs February 6th through the 19th in Milan, with Malinin entering as a gold-medal favorite after claiming his fourth straight U.S. title.

Figure Skater Maxim Naumov Loses Both Parents In Fatal Crash

Maxim Naumov Selected For The U.S. Olympic Team

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