Figure Skater, 12, Who Died in Plane Crash Had Already Beaten Cancer

At just 12 years old, figure skater Brielle Beyer had already lived quite a life both on and off the ice. 

Brielle was one of the victims of the Wednesday, January 29, plane crash in Washington D.C. when American Airlines flight 5342 collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport. The skater was on board the plane with her mother, Justyna, as the pair returned from the U.S. National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas. 

During an interview with ABC News on Thursday, January 30, it was revealed that Brielle was also a cancer survivor.

“She was just such a fighter in everything she did,” Brielle’s father, Andy Beyer, told reporter Whit Johnson. “She lived life to the fullest with everything. She was so proud of herself in figure skating for the progress she had made.”

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Figure skater Maxim Naumov boarded a flight out of Wichita just days before his parents were killed when their American Airlines plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, January 29. Naumov, 23, competed at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita on Sunday, January 26, with his parents, Evgenia Shishkova and […]

He added, “She just had a passion for everything she did in life. Just singing around the house, she had a beautiful singing voice. I will miss that so much because she just lit up the house with her wonderful voice.”

Andy recalled feeling uneasy when he was on his way to pick up Brielle and Justyna from the airport. 

“When it was time for the plane to land, they hadn’t landed,” he said. “We couldn’t get text messages through. I saw the fire trucks and everything and I knew. I called an air traffic controller friend of mine and she confirmed it was their flight.”

Andy said he had to wait hours to get “official word of what had happened.”

In the absence of his wife and daughter, Andy has been “truthful” with his 6-year-old son about the tragedy. 

“I’m asking if he has any questions,” he explained. “Unfortunately, he just has to relive it. He has to ask the same questions about what happened over and over. But I’m just telling him the truth, that they were in a terrible accident and that they did die.”

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Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano reflected on the tragic plane crash that killed multiple American figure skaters after spending a special week alongside them in Wichita, Kansas. “My heart breaks for my skating family today and my thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by this horrible tragedy,” Boitano, 61, wrote via his […]

Andy added, “I’m just letting him know that he’s loved.”

In conclusion, Andy was asked to reflect on the last conversation he had with his daughter. 

“We were excited that she was going to be coming home. I missed them,” he said. “They were gone for six days before this happened. I really missed them. I live my life for my family. Figure skating at that level, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a whole family commitment. It takes a lot. We had a great group of coaches and other skaters that were our second family.”

Brielle was one of at least 14 figure skaters returning from Wichita who died in the plane crash. In total, at least 60 passengers and four crew members were killed.