A 20-year-old woman was a victim of the American Airlines crash after she was returning to the capital for school after he grandfather’s funeral.
Grace Maxwell, 20, of Wichita, Kansas, was among the passengers on American Airlines Flight 5342 when it crashed into the military aircraft over the Potomac River on Wednesday, January 29.
Maxwell, a biomedical engineering student at Cedarville University in Ohio, had been traveling back to school after attending the funeral of her grandfather, Charles Andrew Winter, her father, Dean Maxwell, told The Wichita Eagle.
Authorities have yet to officially confirm the identities of all victims, but Maxwell’s father said he is certain his daughter was aboard the ill-fated flight.
“We do know she was on the plane,” he said. He has not yet been contacted by officials regarding her recovery but has been in touch with the airline’s Care Team, which is providing support to families.
Cedarville University confirmed Maxwell’s enrollment, stating she was a mechanical engineering major set to graduate in 2026. The university’s president is expected to address students during an all-campus chapel program on Friday, January 31.
“As you can imagine, the past 24 hours have been very difficult for the Maxwell family and the Cedarville University community. As a university, we do not desire to turn this tragic event into anything more than a way to honor Grace, her family, and Jesus,” a university spokesperson told WLWT.
Dr. Tim Norman, Maxwell’s secondary advisor, described her as a “quiet person with a keen interest in helping others through engineering.”
Maxwell was not the only student aboard the flight. According to Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid, three students and six parents from the school district were also on board.
Additionally, 14 U.S. figure skaters were among the passengers, including six members of The Skating Club of Boston.
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Renowned Russian-born coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, a married pair who won the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, were also passengers.
They had spent decades coaching young skaters in New England. Their son, competitive skater Maxim Naumov, was not on the plane.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov extended condolences following the confirmation of their deaths.
“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed,” he said. “We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash.”
Young figure skaters Angela Yang and Sean Kay, along with their coach Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov, were also on board.
Kirsanov’s wife, Natalia Gudin, confirmed their deaths to the News Journal.
“We always use American Airlines when we go to competition,” she said. “This time they go without me, and all of them are gone.”
I brought two babies home alone after giving birth — my husband yelled at them in anger and then ran away.
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