It’s been a year since American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter mid-flight. The 20-year-old Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet crashed into the Potomac River, killing all 60 passengers and four crew members. Among the deceased were the Livingston family: a mom and dad and their two young daughters. The tragedy rocked the extended family’s lives, and they will never forget the fateful day and what they lost. Yet, they find solace in their beautiful memories.
Peter Livingston and his wife, Donna, took their two girls, Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11, to a US Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas, in January 2025. Both girls had tremendous athletic ability and big plans for their future. They were en route home when the crash occurred. Peter’s cousin, Amy Hunter, told People they lost an “entire branch” of their family tree when the Livingston family died.
“They were full of life; when the four of them walked in, they lit up a room,” Hunter said.
She added that the parents adored their daughters and lived for their passion. Peter and Donna became deeply involved in the Ashburn, Virginia, figure skating community, supporting their girls’ enthusiasm for the sport.
Another of Peter’s cousins, Rachel Feres, knew how wonderful Peter would be as a dad. “Just knowing Peter, growing up, it was really funny to me that he became such a girl dad in this world of figure skating with the sparkly outfits and all of the pageantry of it,” she told People.
Feres had just as many kind things to say about Donna. “Donna was just sparkly, bright, driven, with the biggest, loudest laugh,” she added. “She was just one of those people who makes you just feel warm and good to be around.”
Peter loved his daughters so much that he created the “Livingston Ice Rink” in his small backyard each year. It made him famous in the neighborhood and the family, Hunter shared.
The girls loved figure skating and posted about it on Instagram. Alydia and Everly called themselves the Ice Skating Sisters. Just days before their tragic deaths, they posted one last photo with a sweet caption.
“If you look closely at Alydia’s badge… We were born ready for this but is @usfigureskating ready for this much Livingston at Nationals?” it read.
Hunter said the girls had a gift, and both wanted to skate in the Olympics. “It was entirely possible one or both of them would have ended up in the Olympic Games at some point — they were that good,” she said, per People.
The trip to Wichita was a family event that they felt so proud of. “Because they both qualified, they were all together,” she added. “It was a good week for them and they were happy. We take that as a blessing, that they were all together.”
According to People, both women attended a memorial service on January 29 commemorating the tragedy. Feres said in some ways, she feels very connected to the other victims’ families.
“The world lost a lot of lights on January 29 — beautiful, talented, driven, giving, loving people. The world lost sons and daughters and cousins and friends, and that has a ripple effect; and so we should remember that,” she said.
What a beautiful way to honor their memories and keep them alive.
