‘Married world champion figure skaters on board American Airlines plane’ that crashed into chopper as 64 feared dead
WORLD champion figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board the crashed American Airlines, reports say.
The plane plunged into Potomac River in Washington DC after colliding with a US Army helicopter just before 9pm.
The married couple, from Russia, were among the 64 people on board the flight, Tass news agency reports.
Shishkova and Naumov won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994.
The couple had reportedly lived in the United States since at least 1998, where they trained young ice skaters.
Their son Maxim, who competed for the US in singles, was also feared to have been on board the plane,
He had been competing at the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas from Jan. 20-26, according to the event’s website.
Russia’s Mash news outlet published a list of 13 skaters, many of them the children of Russian immigrants to the US who it said were believed to have been on the plane.
Another former skater who competed for the Soviet Union, Inna Volyanskaya was also reported to have been on board.
She was a coach at the Washington figure skating club, according to its website.
US Figure Skating said several members of its skating community were also on board.
It said that the athletes, coaches and relatives were travelling back home from a development camp held in Wichita, Kansas.
It said: “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.”
While Team USA pair skater Luke Wang said on X: “Praying for all those on the flight from Wichita to DC.
It comes as…
- All 64 people on plane feared dead
- Chilling audio reveals final moments of plane
- Rescue crews grapple with cold, dark conditions
- Officials say ‘many, many, many’ dead
- US Army confirms one of its Blackhawk helicopters involved
- Trump says crash ‘could have been prevented’
“Among the passengers were skaters and coaches. Absolutely heartbreaking.”
Hopes are dwindling for survivors with officials warning there are “many, many” dead after the jet reportedly split in two.
American Eagle Flight 5342 from Kansas was approaching Runway 33 at Ronald Reagan International Airport when it collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter.
Horror CCTV from the Kennedy Center showed the moment the aircraft burst into flames after crashing in the air.
Rescue crews are grappling with dark, cold conditions to search for any survivors as police divers and boats scour the freezing waters.
Officials say there are “many, many, many” people dead, but have not confirmed the tragic toll.