Figure skating event held in Wilmette to honor victims of Washington DC plane crash by DuPage Figure Skating Club

CHICAGO (WLS) — There was a touching tribute Saturday in the northern suburbs.

Members of the local figure skating community came together to remember and honor their friends lost in January’s tragic crash between a passenger jet and army helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Of the 67 who died, 28 had ties to the skating community.

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Young skaters poured their hearts out in their performances. Silhouette spun on the ice in memory of those no longer with them.

“I come to the rink every single day just to let out emotion, and it’s a way of portraying how you feel on a daily basis,” figure skater Eliana Peal said. “So to be able to have this place in my second home is an amazing feeling.”

Sister and brother Elliana and Ethan Peal grew up on the rinks of Chicago, finding, in a big city, a small community.

“I hope that our performance and just us all coming together and being here can help remember them and cherish them, and all of us to remember why we love to do what we do,” Ethan Peal said.

As the Peal siblings and others performed, 28 candles glimmered along the wall, one for each loss felt by U.S. figure skating community.

“It’s like a part of me is like, gone, but I’m like skating for them,” figure skater Baylen Taich said. “So it’s really nice to be able to do that.”

The Flight 5342 Memorial Skating performance in Wilmette was organized by the DuPage Figure Skating Club. The event featured many who attended the same Wichita, Kansas camp as the skaters who were lost in the tragedy.

“It just really was heartbreaking,” figure skater Chloe Levine said. “But, I’m happy we get to honor them today, and honor their souls, pretty much. Because even though they can’t, I still want to skate for them, and I will continue to skate for them in every performance.

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“Tragedies, you have to come together, you have to support each other, so that’s why we’re,” Ethan Peal said.