The community had just hosted the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships, the first national skating event held here and a huge feather in the cap of local residents who had spent years working to build up the sport,

Sean O'Reilly, general manager of the Wichita Ice Center, said his team got to know numerous athletes who had been in Wichita for a development camp after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Wichita, Kansas Mayor Lily Wu joins Chris Jansing to react to the deadly crash between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane that was flying to Washington, D.C. from Wichita.

On board the crashed flight were figure skaters and their families, friends and coaches, U.S. Figure Skating confirmed.

Among those athletes competing in Wichita are former and hopefully future Olympians, many of whom are also defending national champions.

The two Russian figure skating coaches killed in the American Airlines crash were two-time Olympians and former world champions in the pairs event