Figure skaters among those on flight that collided with Army helicopter

ARLINGTON, Va. (WDCW) - Several of the 60 passengers on board an American Airlines airplane that collided with a military helicopter Wednesday night were figure skaters, U.S. Figure Skating said.

The organization released a statement saying athletes, coaches and family members were on their way home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Kansas when the collision happened.

Doug Zeghibe, the chief executive at the Skating Club of Boston, said Thursday that skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were among those killed, along with coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

“This will have long-reaching impacts for our community,” he said during a news conference while visibly emotional.

In a statement, Zeghibe added that 12 athletes from the club had attended the development camp and 18 had competed in the U.S. Championships.

"Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy," Zeghibe said. "Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 or 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words."

In an update Thursday morning, Russian nationals confirmed that Shishkova and Naumov were on the plane. The married couple were world champions in the 1990s and competed in the Winter Olympics twice.

“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed. There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash,” he said.

Shishkova and Naumov are listed as professional pairs coaches on the website of the Skating Club of Boston. Their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.

The passengers were on American Eagle Flight 5342, operated by PSA, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines. The flight left Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) bound for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

The airplane, which had four crew members on it in addition to the passengers, and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, crashed into each other as the plane approached the airport. Both fell into the Potomac River below. The helicopter, which was based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and was on a training exercise, had three military members on board.

Here is the full statement from U.S. Figure Skating:

U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C. These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.

U.S. Figure Skating

The international governing body for figure skating said the global skating community was “deeply shocked” and heartbroken to learn that figure skaters and those close to them were onboard the flight.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport — it’s a close-knit family — and we stand together,” the International Skating Union said in a statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair crash occurred before 9 p.m. EST in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

Military aircraft frequently conduct training flights in and around the congested and heavily restricted airspace around the nation’s capital for familiarization and continuity of government planning.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.