US and Russian figure skaters were on board crashed plane

A pair of 16-year-old skaters, their mothers, and two Russian coaches were among the passengers on board an aeroplane that hit a helicopter above Washington DC on Wednesday evening, the group’s skating club in Boston says.

They were given the names Spencer Lane and Jinna Hahn, their mothers Christine Lane and Jin Hahn, and their Russian coaches, both of whom were former world champion skaters, Vadim Naumov and Yevgenia Shishkova.

At least 28 bodies have been recovered from the scene, according to US officials, who claim they don’t anticipate any survivors from the collision.

It then fell into the ice-cold Potomac River.

According to an unnamed source, up to 15 passengers on the flight may have been skating together.

“Several” athletes, coaches and family members involved with US Figure Skating were on the flight, the sport’s US governing body said. It is yet to give more names.

Giving details of the club’s victims, the CEO of the Figure Skating Club of Boston, Doug Zeghibe, told reporters: “Six is a horrific number for us”. He went on to say: “This will have long, reaching impacts for our skating community”.

In a statement, the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society wrote it was “devastated” to learn of the crash, adding that “beloved members of the club” were among those who had died.

Russia confirmed earlier on Thursday that some of its citizens were aboard the plane after Naumov and Shishkova were named in Russian media.

US Figure Skating stated in its own statement that “many members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342.” The group were returning home from a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, the statement added.

The US National Figure Skating Championships were held in Wichita between January 20 and January 26. Following the competition, there was a development camp for young skaters.

Former Russian pair skaters Shishkova and Naumov, who won the 1994 world championships, are now retired. They also participated in the Olympics and later went on to start their US coaching careers.

The Potomac River’s freezing waters are where the remains of the two aircraft are still being searched by rescue teams. On Thursday morning, officials said they had switched to a recovery operation.

Following the crash on Wednesday evening, the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport temporarily halted all flights.

A limited amount of details about the skaters have been revealed besides the undisclosed total number of skaters.