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

Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. The deaths came after the passenger jet was preparing to land shortly before 9 p.m. at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after flying from Wichita,