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The Shadows on the Ice hub takes a thoughtful look at some of figure skating's most profound tragedies, including the Sabena Flight 548 crash, the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the skating community, the Regent’s Park Skating Tragedy, and other devastating moments that left lasting marks on the sport. These carefully researched pieces honour the lives affected while exploring how tragedy reshaped figure skating history.
They Skated Away
They Skated Away is a poignant digital memorial that shines a light on a chapter of figure skating history too often forgotten. Born out of research for the book Sequins, Scandals & Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980s, this project honors dozens of skaters, coaches, and judges from the skating community who lost their lives to AIDS‑related illnesses - a toll that, over time, surpassed even the number of lives lost in the 1961 Sabena crash. Because stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS during the 1980s and 1990s meant many deaths were underreported or hidden, They Skated Away combines interviews, personal stories, and rare photographs to respectfully celebrate these individuals’ contributions to the sport and preserve their legacies for future generations.
Topics: The AIDS Epidemic, LGBTQ+ figure skating history, figure skating tragedies
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Indelible Tracings: The Story of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating Team
The 1961 Sabena crash remains one of the darkest days in figure skating history. On February 15, 1961, Sabena Flight 548, en route from New York to Brussels, crashed while attempting to land near Brussels, killing all 72 people on board and one person on the ground. Among the victims were the entire United States Figure Skating Association team traveling to the World Championships in Prague, along with coaches, officials, and family members. The tragedy wiped out a generation of American skating talent and profoundly altered the sport’s trajectory in the United States, casting a long shadow over the 1961 World Championships and shaping the rebuilding of the national program in the years that followed. Patricia Shelley Bushman's book Indelible Tracings: The Story of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating Team is the definitive history of the tragedy.
Topics: Sabena Flight 548, Sabena Crash, Plane Crash in 1961, figure skating tragedies
The Sabena Aftermath
The Sabena Aftermath delves into the lasting impact of the 1961 Sabena crash and its ripple effects on figure skating. Explore the stories of those connected to the tragedy and its aftermath through these three perspectives:
Part 1: An Unlikely Comeback
Part 2: Gertrude The Gallant
Part 3: The Patterson and Radix Report
Topics: Sabena Flight 548, Sabena Crash, Plane Crash in 1961, figure skating tragedies, Gertrude Vinson, Barbara Ann Roles
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In Remembrance Of Those We Lost
On January 29, 2026, U.S. Figure Skating published In Remembrance Of Those We Lost to mark the first anniversary of the tragic American Airlines Flight 5342 crash that claimed the lives of 28 members of the skating community on January 29, 2025. The article, drawn from a tribute in Skating magazine, commemorates athletes, coaches, parents, and volunteers whose lives and contributions to the sport were cut short in the accident. It shares personal stories - from promising young skaters on the rise to beloved coaches whose warmth and dedication shaped countless careers - emphasizing not just their loss but the vibrancy, passion, and community they brought to figure skating.
Topics: American Airlines Flight 5342, U.S. Figure Skating, figure skating tragedies
The Regent's Park Skating Tragedy
On January 15, 1867, a large crowd gathered on the frozen lake in Regent's Park in London, England during a severe cold snap. As hundreds of skaters and onlookers ventured onto the ice, it suddenly gave way, plunging hundreds into the freezing water. At least 40 people were reported dead, though exact numbers vary in contemporary accounts. The catastrophe shocked Victorian society, prompted renewed concerns about public safety on natural ice, and became a grim reminder of the risks of skating on natural ice.
Topics: Regent's Park Skating Tragedy, Victorian era, Regent's Park, British figure skating, figure skating tragedies
The Hallowe'en Holocaust: A Closer Look at the 1963 Holiday on Ice Explosion
On October 31, 1963, during the opening-night performance of Holiday on Ice at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis, a devastating propane gas explosion turned a delightful skating show into one of the deadliest disasters in the state’s history. The explosion killed dozens immediately and raised the death toll to around seventy-plus as injured victims later died, while nearly 400 people were wounded. The arena’s ice surface was even used as a makeshift morgue in the aftermath. The tragedy, dubbed The Hallowe’en Holocaust by the press, left a lasting impact on the skating community.
Topics: 1963 Holiday on Ice explosion, The Hallowe'en Holocaust, disasters in Indiana, Indiana history, figure skating tragedies
The Baltimore Armoury Accident
On March 6, 1952, disaster struck at an ice show in Baltimore, Maryland. Thousands had packed the Fifth Regiment Armory to see a performance by skating star Sonja Henie, when a hastily constructed set of temporary bleachers collapsed just minutes before the show was to start. The heavy wooden stands crashed to the floor with a roar. Spectators - men, women, and children - tumbled into a tangle of splintered beams. Over 250 people were injured, some seriously, and were treated in hospitals across the city, though miraculously no one was killed. The accident was later attributed to shoddy craftsmanship, prompting widespread outrage and legal action against the contractors involved.
Topics: 1952 Baltimore Armoury Accident, Maryland history, Sonja Henie, Baltimore history, figure skating tragedies
Bad Things Come In Threes
A retrospective that highlights three tragic but lesser‑remembered tragedies in skating history, underscoring how the sport has been touched by misfortune beyond the well‑known disasters like the Sabena crash or the 1867 Regent's Park tragedy. The piece opens with the 1911 St. Petersburg fire, in which a lamp knocked over in makeshift rink housing sparked a blaze that killed fifteen workers near the Fontanka River. It then recalls the 1972 Vyšehrad crash after a Holiday on Ice show in Prague, when a car collision claimed the lives of three young skaters returning from a party and cast a pall over the troupe’s tour. Finally, the article revisits the 1908 accident on the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, where warming temperatures weakened pond ice and led to dozens of skaters falling through in the crowded Bois de Boulogne.
Topics: 1911 St. Petersburg Fire, Holiday on Ice, Bois de Boulogne, figure skating tragedies
Bad Things Come In Threes
A retrospective that highlights three tragic but lesser‑remembered tragedies in skating history, underscoring how the sport has been touched by misfortune beyond the well‑known disasters like the Sabena crash or the 1867 Regent's Park tragedy. The piece opens with the 1911 St. Petersburg fire, in which a lamp knocked over in makeshift rink housing sparked a blaze that killed fifteen workers near the Fontanka River. It then recalls the 1972 Vyšehrad crash after a Holiday on Ice show in Prague, when a car collision claimed the lives of three young skaters returning from a party and cast a pall over the troupe’s tour. Finally, the article revisits the 1908 accident on the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, where warming temperatures weakened pond ice and led to dozens of skaters falling through in the crowded Bois de Boulogne.
Topics: 1911 St. Petersburg Fire, Holiday on Ice, Bois de Boulogne, figure skating tragedies
