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

Some skaters, their families, and coaches were on American Airlines Flight 5342 that crashed with a military helicopter on Wednesday night.

Several members' of the U.S. Figure Skating community were onboard the American Airlines plane that collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter over Washington, D.C., the governing body said in a statement.