The young figure skaters whose lives were cut tragically short when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday night were just beginning their journeys to stardom.

Ryan O’Hara, 28, from Lilburn, Georgia, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, from Great Mills, Maryland, died in the crash. Eaves was the instructor pilot on board and had about 1,000 flight hours, according to Army official Jonathan Koziol.