Just days after their mother and brother were killed in a midair collision between an American Airlines jet and U.S. Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., this young family of aspiring figure skaters was back on the ice Friday to honor their memories.
The father, Vitali Kay, was not far from his children – ages 14, 10 and 7 – as they skated at the University of Delaware’s Golden Ice Arena for the first time since their 42-year-old mother, Julia, and their 11-year-old brother, Sean, were killed Wednesday night.
“This is a devastating tragedy,” Vitali Kay told Delaware Online/The News Journal on Friday. “Hopefully, it’s the worst that my kids and I will ever see in our lives.”
Vitali Kay spent Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at the University of Delaware’s Golden Ice Arena with his three children as a way to honor their mother. His wife, Julia, and their 11-year-old son Sean, were among those killed on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, during a collision between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.
BACKGROUND: Delaware ice skater’s mother confirmed to be on flight with son during DC plane crash
Speaking pragmatically, Vitali Kay said sports and other healthy activities can help overcome difficult times for many. He explained how he wants to use the sport his children have spent years honing their skills on as a way for them to cope with this calamity.
He doesn’t expect this will clear their suffering, but it will let them know they will be able to move on.
“If I can teach my kids this, that’s – in my eyes – very helpful,” he said.
‘OK. Gotta go’
Julia and Sean, whose Russian names are Yulia and Ilya, were among family, coaches and members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club returning from the U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas, when their American Airlines plane collided with an Army helicopter killing the 64 people aboard the plane and all three soldiers in the helicopter.
Others from the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club who were killed in the plane crash were Sean’s figure skating partner, Angela Yang, and their coach, Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov. Yang’s mother, Lily, was reportedly killed in the crash too, but Delaware Online/The News Journal has not independently confirmed her death.
Vitali Kay said he was reading a book and not paying attention to the news when Coach Kirsanov’s wife called him Wednesday night questioning him: “Did you read the news?”
Vitali Kay began searching for any news he could find about the crash, but it was all over the place.
“News were mixed,” he said. “Some people saying the plane landed, you know, someone said ‘Oh, there were a bunch of survivors. It was a lot of unknown.”
It wasn’t until he found the flight number that he connected the pieces.
“OK,” he said. “Gotta go.”
WHAT WE KNOW: At least 2 skaters, 1 coach from UD Figure Skating Club killed in plane, helicopter collision
His three other children were sleeping, so Vitali Kay got in his car and picked up Kirsanov’s wife before heading to Reagan Washington National Airport where the American Airlines flight was supposed to have landed.
As they were arriving at Reagan, he said a police car blocked the roadway to the airport. Vitali Kay told the officer his wife was on that plane and the officer allowed them to go to the airport without any questions.
“Go,” Vitali Kay said the officer told him. “Just human, a totally human action.”
While there were many unanswered questions shortly after arriving at the airport that night, Vitali Kay said it was “fascinating” to see the support everyone was given there.
“I saw this again and again in the people who I met at the airport later, with their support,” he said.
Growing support
The support for the Kays’ continues to grow, including from friends as far away as Chicago where Vitali and Julia first arrived from Russia in 2002. The two met while at a university in Latvia, where Vitali Kay sheepishly admitted to cheating off Julia’s schoolwork.
Vitali Kay spent Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at the University of Delaware’s Golden Ice Arena with his three children as a way to honor their mother. His wife, Julia, and their 11-year-old son Sean, were among those killed on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, during a collision between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.
“She was like a good student and I was taking her notes and reading her notes,” he said.
After marrying, the couple who loved to travel headed to Chicago where his sister lives. There, the pair started a family and had four children. Vitali Kay said they moved to Delaware about five years ago, right before the pandemic struck.
As their children’s love for the sport of figure skating grew, the family adjusted their lifestyles.
The children were homeschooled and Vitali Kay did virtual work from the skating rink where the children were practicing and being coached. Julia switched careers and became a nurse, working nights and earning enough to support the children’s sport.
Two of the Kays’ Chicago-area friends immediately drove to Delaware to help them as much as they could. Others are expected to come in the following days as the others return to their families and work.
Other Chicago friends Danila and Anna Ulyanova, who’ve known the Kays for about 20 years, set up a GoFundMe account in hopes it can cover the expenses of paying for the children’s sport now that Julia’s income will no longer be there for them.
“I hope that fundraising will help,” Anna Ulyanova told Delaware Online/The News Journal, adding that Julia sacrificed for her children’s dreams. “She gave everything she had for their future.”
Vitali Kay said he’d like to see if he can start a nonprofit or business that can help other families in similar situations.
“What can be done to help those parents, to help those athletes be more, to achieve more?” Vitali Kay said. “The whole community will benefit from this. It would be just an overall better sport.” Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware siblings skate to honor mother, brother killed in plane crash
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