16-year-old figure skater performs to late father’s ‘Pachelbel’s Canon’ in heart-breaking tribute

7 March 2025, 14:31 | Updated: 7 March 2025, 16:18

Figure skater Isabella Aparicio performs poignant routine to her father Luciano’s ‘Pachelbel’s Canon’ recording. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Isabella Aparicio, who lost both her father and brother in an American Airlines plane crash, honoured them in music.

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Weeks after losing them both in an American Airlines plane crash, figure skater Isabella Aparicio paid tribute to her father and 14-year-old brother by performing a beautiful routine on the ice to the sound of her father’s recording of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

Her father, Luciano Aparicio, had recorded the timeless piece of music for classical guitar.

The 16-year-old ended her routine by falling to her knees at the centre of the ice, dropping head into hands as the audience gave her a standing ovation. She quietly stood up and skated off the ice.

Other figure skaters also took part in the ‘Legacy on Ice’ event on Sunday 2 March, held to honour the 67 people who died on 29 January when a military helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342, killing everyone on board both aircrafts. The event also raised money for those impacted by the crash.

US figure skater pays tribute to father and brother after their deaths in D.C. crash

Isabella’s father Luciano Aparicio and brother Franco Aparicio were among 28 members of the figure skating community on board who died from the impact of the collision.

Several had been travelling back from the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships in Kansas a few days earlier, as well as from a national development camp attended by skaters and coaches from across the States.

After her performance, Aparicio was celebrated with rapturous applause from the audience, as seen in a TikTok posted by NBC Olympics and Paralympics.

Towards the start of her routine Aparicio took a wrong turn and fell on the ice, but quickly recovered.

A viewer on TikTok observed: “I feel as though the fall really added to the routine. It showed the emphasis on grief – the tribute and falling backwards in emotions. Something about it was so unintentionally artistic.”

Pachelbel’s Canon is known for having a great emotional impact on its listener, and is widely used at both weddings and funerals for its elegant melody, powerful harmonies, and ability to evoke emotions of grief, remembrance and hope.