At least 10 members of the figure skating community were among the 60 passengers on the commercial jet that collided with a military helicopter in the skies near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night.
Doug Zeghibe, the chief executive of the Skating Club of Boston, said in a statement that six people affiliated with his club were on board the flight after attending a national development camp for junior and novice skaters in Wichita, Kansas, earlier this week. The group included Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, who won the 1994 world championships as pairs figure skaters for Russia before moving to the United States and becoming coaches.
Teenage figure skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane − as well as their respective mothers, Jin and Christine − were also on the flight, Zeghibe said. Authorities have said they do not believe there are any survivors from the collision.
‘Skating is a very close and tight-knit community,’ Zeghibe said in a news conference. ‘These kids, and their parents, they’re here at our facility in Norwood six sometimes seven days a week. It’s a close, tight bond. And I think, for all of us, we have lost family.’
Delaware-based coach Alexandr Kirsanov and two of his skaters, Sean Kay and Angela Yang, were also on the fatal flight, Kirsanov’s wife Natalia Gudin told The News Journal, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Virginia, identified Inna Volyanskaya, a former Russia skater who coached in northern Virginia, as another one of the victims.
U.S. Figure Skating, the national governing body that oversees the sport, said in a statement that ‘several members’ of the figure skating community were aboard the plane that had departed earlier Wednesday evening from Wichita, which hosted the 2025 national championships last week. As of Thursday evening, it had not specified the number of figure skaters or coaches involved in the collision, nor identified any of them by name.
‘We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,’ U.S. Figure Skating said in the statement.
Naumov and Shishkova’s son, figure skater Maxim Naumov, was not on the plane with his parents, Zeghibe said. Reigning world champion Ilia Malinin, who lives and trains in the Washington area, also indicated that he was not aboard the flight.
‘I’m heartbroken by the tragic loss of my fellow skaters in this devastating accident,’ Malinin wrote on Instagram. ‘The figure skating community is a family, and this loss is beyond words.’
Malinin competed in Wichita over the weekend and clinched his third consecutive national championship. But, like many of the top senior-level skaters and their supporters, he had left the city prior to Wednesday.
U.S. Figure Skating hosted camp in Wichita after nationals
Some members of the figure skating community remained in Wichita to participate in a three-day development camp hosted by U.S. Figure Skating, an educational training program offered only to elite young skaters in the country. The governing body says on its web site that the camp is intended to ‘accelerate their exposure to high performance programs and Team USA,’ serving as a proving ground for novice and junior athletes who are hoping to represent Team USA on the international stage.
‘The camp follows the competition. It’s for younger skaters that have been identified with promise by U.S. Figure Skating’s high development organization,’ Zeghibe explained in the news conference. ‘U.S. Figure Skating was looking to everyone at that high-development national camp as the future of the sport.’
Sarah Hirshland, the chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, referred to the young skaters in a statement as Olympic hopefuls who ‘represented the bright future of Team USA.’
‘They were remarkable young people and talents, passionately pursuing their dreams, and they will forever hold a cherished place in the Team USA family,’ Hirshland said.
The International Skating Union, which is the international federation that governs the sport, and the International Olympic Committee also issued statements offering their condolences to those impacted. IOC
‘Figure skating is more than a sport — it’s a close-knit family — and we stand together,’ the ISU said.
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Authorities say they don’t expect to find survivors
The collision occurred just before 9 p.m. Wednesday above the Potomac River, which runs along the southern and western side of Washington D.C. Authorities said American Airlines Flight 5342 attempted to land and collided in midair with the Black Hawk helicopter, which was carrying three people.
John Donnelly, D.C. fire and EMS chief, said Thursday that officials do not believe there are any survivors. They had recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter as of early Thursday.
‘I want to express my sincere condolences for the accident that happened… and also for those on the military aircraft, ‘ American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told reporters. ‘It’s devastating we are all hurting. At this time we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the (American Airline) flight.’
– Karissa Waddick, Kim Hjelmgaard and Reuters