Grief grips RI as Spencer Lane, mother Christine Conrad Lane are killed in plane crash

• 16-year-old figure skater Spencer Lane and his mother, Christine Conrad Spencer, were killed in a midair collision at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
• Christine will be remembered for her creativity, passion for helping animals, and her deep connection to friends and family.
• The Rhode Island skating community, including close friends, is devastated by the tragic loss, with many sharing heartfelt tributes.

BARRINGTON − Devastation spread across the Rhode Island figure-skating community Thursday with word that 16-year-old skater Spencer Lane and his mom, Christine Conrad Lane, 49, were among those who died in Wednesday night’s midair collision at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

“We’re all just gutted and heartbroken,” Lisa Duffy, a friend and co-worker of Christine Lane at Residential Properties Ltd., told The Providence Journal Thursday afternoon.

“Our skaters are our family and we all feel this terrible loss deeply,” Warwick Figure Skaters, a skating club there, said in a post Thursday on its Facebook page. Spencer “was always a bright light at our rink. He was kind and a friend to so many of his fellow skaters. He was a fiercely determined and fearless skater, always challenging himself. He was in love with the sport from the beginning and it showed.”

Family statement: “You simply could not stop him if he decided he wanted to do something.”

The family was traveling to Washington Thursday afternoon and issued a statement through a friend.

“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,” the statement said. “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.”

The statement also said, “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.”

“She had a contagious laugh. She was a bright, bright light,” Christine Lane’s friend Duffy remembered her. “Everybody was happy to be in her company.”

And Lane’s son was special. Anyone who was around him felt they were “in the company of a future Olympian,” said Duffy, who added that many were tracking where future Olympics would be held so they could get a jump on buying tickets.

Final words between friends

Lane found friends in all corners of her life, whether it was fostering dogs; knitting and sewing circles; or the skating community. “There’s nobody who ever met her who didn’t like her,” Duffy said. “No matter what it was, she found a way to connect with you.”

Duffy said that she and Lane communicated frequently while the Lanes were in Wichita. “I was watching the nationals on TV and texting her, and saying I was looking for her and her son.”

Just before mother and son began their journey back toward Rhode Island, Duffy texted and asked whether they were still in Kansas or in the air on the way home.

“Wichita, baby!” was the response.

“I blew her a bunch of kisses,” said Duffy.

Later, Duffy sent Lane a TikTok that at least half-joked that today’s fractured world would be better off if people just did more crafts, like knitting and quilting.

She sent that at 8:04 p.m., and expected a funny reply from Lane after her friend landed.

Flight 5342 crashed around 9 p.m.

“Beyond heartbroken”

“I am just beyond heartbroken for her husband and younger son,” said Duffy. “We’re going to rally and help her husband and other son because that’s what she would do for everybody. She just had tons of light and love to share with everybody.”