A couple who are skating trainers and former world champions of the sport were among those aboard the US plane that crashed near Washington. US Figure Skating has confirmed in a statement that members of their community were onboard the American Airlines 5342 flight, which departed from Wichita, Kansas. The plane was en route to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter.
A view of the American Airlines plane in the water after it collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on January 30, 2025 | Source: Getty Images
The helicopter, carrying three military members, and the plane, with 60 passengers and four crew members, collided midair before crashing into the Potomac River on the night of Wednesday, January 29.
US Figure Skating stated that the athletes, coaches, and family members on board had been traveling home from the National Development Camp, which took place alongside the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. The governing body also shared that Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were traveling with the group of young skaters.
The married pair had reportedly lived in the US since at least 1998, dedicating their time to training young ice skaters. They achieved global recognition when they won the pairs figure skating world championship in 1994.
