Syracuse University graduate, son among 67 people killed in plane crash over Washington

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) -- A 1997 graduate from Syracuse University and her son are among the 67 people who died when a regional jet crashed with a military helicopter over Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

Christine Lane and her 16-year-old son, Spencer, were aboard American Airlines Flight 5342.

The Lane family lives in Barrington, a suburb of Providence, Rhode Island.

Christine has a sister who lives in Manlius. She moved to Central New York more than two years ago for a job opportunity, and after Christine's time at SU, helped the entire family fall in love with the region.

Spencer was part of the Skating Club of Boston, the organization's CEO told WPRI in Providence, Rhode Island. The group was returning from the National Development Camp, which took place after the U.S. figure skating championships in Kansas and was scheduled to board a connecting flight from Reagan National Airport to Boston on Wednesday night.

"Christine is a beautiful, creative person and she is someone who just has many different talents," said Douglas Lane, her husband. "Just a wonderful, caring person."

Lane told WPRI that he and his wife adopted their two sons, Spencer and Milo, from South Korea. He said his son was a "phenom" at figure skating, with natural talent and work ethic.

Lane provided the following statement:

“Our family is devastated by the loss of Christine and Spencer. Christine exuded creativity throughout her life, using her formal graphic design training as a jumping-off point for seemingly endless creative pursuits across areas such as photography, quilting, knitting, and more. She brought even greater passion to her role as a mother to Spencer and his brother Milo. She was also a lover of animals, and we lost track of how many dogs she helped place in loving adoptive homes.

Spencer can only be described as a force of nature. You simply could not stop him if he decided he wanted to do something. There is no better example of this than his remarkable skating journey, which we are heartbroken to see end too soon. He truly loved it, and his ascent from basic Learn to Skate classes to U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Team in just a few short years was unprecedented. We are so grateful that his last week was filled with joy and surrounded by his beloved Skating Club of Boston and the U.S. Figure Skating family.

We are also hurting so much from the loss of Spencer’s talented and kind coaches, Genia and Vadim, and all of the wonderful friends Christine and Spencer were sharing their journey with.“

Douglas Lane via WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island