Minutes away from the southern end of Ronald Reagan National Airport, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on the evening of Jan. 29. Anne Valerie Ter, a sophomore at Dwight Global Online School, lost her sister, Olivia Ter, and mother, Oleysa Taylor in the ensuing explosion.

What was your last memory of your mother and sister?
The last memory of my mother and sister was the Saturday before they left for Kansas [for the National Development Camp]. We went out to Reston Town Center. We got food together, and we just talked and talked, and it was just really nice. She gave me some advice about things that were going on. That night, we were watching TV, and then we just started laughing. We just talked again for an hour and we took some silly photos together. It was all really funny. Then they left for Kansas the next day.

What was going through your mind when it all happened?
My mom texted me a minute before the actual crash happened, saying she almost landed. When my return message saying, “I’ll see you soon,” didn’t deliver, I was like, “Wait, that’s so weird. My other messages were delivering.” So right away, I felt like something was wrong. Then when I actually found out, about an hour later that the crash had happened, it didn’t register at first. It all felt kind of weird as if I was in a dream. A few days after, it really hit me, and I just kind of felt empty. And I still feel empty. It was like a part of me was missing.

What was your sister’s experience with skating?
She started when she was two, but she never really took it seriously. It was just a more recreational thing. And I skate recreationally too. It wasn’t really serious until COVID started. When the pandemic hit, everything was kind of closed down, except for the ice rink we have nearby. So she would go there every single day and practice for hours and hours, and she got so much better, so quickly. It was amazing progress. Last year, she switched to a higher-level coach. That’s when it really kind of started hitting me that she was so good at this. And because of her winning fourth place, she got to go to the National Development Camp in Kansas. So I think it all happened in the span of, like, four years, which isn’t that long for figure skating, but she really liked it. It was definitely all she ever wanted to do.

What kind of person was your sister?
Well, she was always very positive, and she was always very caring about me. She would always check up on me, wherever she was, whatever she was doing. Whenever I texted her that something was wrong, she’d always call me, she’d always pick up the phone. She was the closest person in my life. I could tell her everything, and she could tell me everything. It was just like having somebody to talk about anything.

What was your mother like?
My mother put her whole life aside to give me and my sister the opportunity to do whatever we wanted to do. She would take us to all of our activities. She would always sit there with us to make sure we practiced and make sure we did everything we had to do to succeed. She was such a great support system for me. She would always listen to me and try to figure out anything I had questions about.

What is one memory of both of them that brings you comfort?
A memory of both of them that really makes me smile is when we went to Boston together for Olivia’s sectional performance in Boston. We went there for three nights: just me, my mom and my sister. It was such a great experience. A lot of memories are from there, of all of us just having fun and as though we didn’t have a care in our lives after Olivia’s performance.

How would you like people to remember your mother and your sister?
My sister was so caring and nice. I just want to remind people to always be caring and nice to other people. No matter what you’re going through, try to make sure everyone is staying positive. Because that’s who Olivia was. She was always worried about everybody. The same goes for my mom. She was always trying to help people as much as she could. That impacted my life significantly.

What has been most helpful to you during this time?
Definitely the support system I get from my friends and my extended family members. I have had people over at my house every single day since this event, and it definitely has helped me. I was absolutely stunned when I would get phone calls and texts from people that I didn’t even know. They would [tell me about their experiences with my mom and my sister]. They were like, “We’ll never forget them.” Even one of my mom’s friends that I didn’t really know, created a GoFundMe.

How has the skating community chosen to remember your sister?
The ice rinks my sister skated at all had held memorials. They all printed out photos of Olivia. They put squishmallows, which Olivia loved, near her photo and flowers. They were such beautiful events, and there were so many people there. On Instagram, there were so many like accounts that would post everyone who was impacted in the crash.

How will you remember your mother and sister?
I’ll always remember them as such kind and loving people. I have funny videos of them that I will keep close to my heart because those [videos] described who they were as people. I’ll just always have them by me, wherever and whenever.