U.S. figure skaters, along with their coaches and family members, were on board the American Airlines flight that plunged into the frigid Potomac River Wednesday night after a midair collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter.

A statement issued Thursday from U.S. Figure Skating confirmed “several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.”

The governing body for American figure skating said the “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.”

Photographs of aircraft crash victims from The Skating Club of Boston are displayed, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Norwood, Mass. From left is skater Jinna Han, skater Spencer Lane and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova. | Charles Krupa

The statement concluded, “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.”

Related
Team USA just gained gold medals from the 2022 Games. Here’s why

Later Thursday, the CEO of the storied Skating Club of Boston, Doug Zeghibe, said at a news conference that 14 skaters in total have been identified as victims, including six people associated with the Boston club.

Who were the figure skaters in the deadly plane crash?

They were identified as skaters Spencer Lane, 16, and Jinna Han, 13; Spencer’s mother, Christine; Han’s mother, Jin Han; and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

Spencer was a “force of nature” who took up skating three years ago after seeing Salt Lake City skater Nathan Chen in the Olympics, his father, Douglas Lane, told Boston TV station WCVB. Spencer had posted a photo from the plane before take off on Instagram.

Shishkova and Naumov, who were married to each other, were Russian world pairs figure skating champions in 1994 and had lived in the United States since at least 1998, according to Reuters.

Their son, Maxim Naumov, 23, competed at the U.S. championships in Wichita on Sunday and flew back from Kansas on Monday, The Associated Press reported. He was coached by his parents, who watched the former U.S. junior champion narrowly miss medaling Sunday.

“Both of his parents were with him while he was competing. It’s well-known Mom was always too nervous to watch him skate,” an emotional Zeghibe said. “But his dad was with him, and Dad was in the ‘kiss-and-cry’ sharing his great performance.”

Other skaters identified include sisters Everly and Alydia Livingston, members of the Washington Figure Skating Club, according to People magazine. Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11, posted about their athletic feats on Instagram as @ice_skating_sisters.

Their parents were reported to have also died in the crash by Fauquier Now, an online news source in Fauquier County, Virginia. Everly’s skating partner, Franco Aparicio, is also believed to be among the victims of the crash, People said, citing Russian media reports.

A Virginia congressman, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, posted on X that he’d “confirmed that none of the 67 people in last night’s crash survived, including members of our community like Inna Volanskaya, an ice skating coach in Ashburn.”

Volanskaya was a pairs skater for what was then the Soviet Union and had “performed all over the world and played Ariel in Disney on Ice’s “The Little Mermaid” before becoming a coach in 2002," NBC4 in Washington reported.

The station also reported that Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia said three of its students and six parents were on the plane. Another area school district, Loudon County Public Schools, said in a statement, “multiple victims were former LCPS students.”

At the Ashburn Ice House in Virginia, bouquets and vases of flowers filled a table near the entrance. General Manager Rob Lorenzen told News4 it had been a long night for him and the rink’s staff.

“It’s hard to see my staff struggle. It’s hard to see the other coaches struggling,” Lorenzen said. “At this point in the day today, that ice is normally bustling with skaters, and there’s no one here today.”

Zeghibe described the losses to the Boston club as a “horrific tragedy,” according to the Boston Herald.

“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community,” Zeghibe said. “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. I think for all of us, we have lost family.”

Since the crash occurred, he said has been trying to get accurate information.

“At one point, we thought we had 12 skaters that were on and their families. … I know it sounds crazy to be relieved, ‘... it’s only six?’ But in some ways, I am relieved that it was only six but it is a devastating six,” Zeghibe said.

U.S. Figure Skating said in an email while “there are other organizations that have identified passengers, out of respect for the families affected, we will not confirm any names until American Airlines officially releases that information.”

The national governing body also provided information on mental health support that’s available.

“After celebrating tremendous successes at the Championships in Wichita last week, we now grieve the incomprehensible loss of fellow athletes, coaches and supporters. We are a community in mourning, supporting each other in the face of such unspeakable tragedy,” the email said.

How did Olympic leaders respond to the loss of U.S. skaters?

Catherine Raney Norman, a four-time Olympic speedskater and a leader of Utah’s upcoming Olympics, the 2034 Winter Games, reached out to the head of U.S. Figure Skating.

“On behalf of Utah 2034 and the State of Utah, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to you and your community. As you mourn and heal, please know that we are family — unified through sport — and our thoughts and prayers are with you,” she said.

“We are holding you close in our hearts, and if there is anything we can do to support you during this difficult time, we are here for you,” she concluded, signing off, “With heartfelt sympathy and solidarity.”

Former Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan tries to hold back her emotions while addressing the media at The Skating Club of Boston, where six members of the club's community, including athletes, coaches and family, were killed in an airplane collision with a helicopter on Wednesday in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Norwood, Mass. | Charles Krupa
Related
IOC President Thomas Bach visits young athletes in Utah

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach also offered his condolences, in a statement posted on X.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic air accident in Washington DC. On behalf of the IOC, and personally, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those affected, which we understand may include Olympians, young athletes, and their support staff. Our thoughts are with all the victims, their families and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Bach said.

At the Utah Legislature, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, called for a moment of silence for the crash victims midway through morning floor time. He said there were three skaters from Park City at the Wichita competition, but that they weren’t on the deadly flight.

“It’s been weighing on my mind overnight,” the legislative leader said. “We’re fortunate, I think, for the three that were at the ... skating event but were not on the plane. We feel good for their families, but we feel very, very deeply, regret for the families that lost their lives.”

There are believed to be no survivors among the 60 passengers and four crew members on board the commercial jet or the three soldiers on the helicopter. The cause of the crash that occurred around 9 p.m. Wednesday local time is under investigation.

The jet was coming directly from Wichita, where the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held Jan. 20-26, at INTRUST Bank Arena. The competition is the final qualifier for the U.S. World and Junior Championship teams.

What happened to U.S. Figure Skating in 1961

This isn’t the first time that U.S. figure skating has been devastated by a plane crash.

63
Comments

In 1961, all 18 members of the national team and another 16 family members, coaches, judges and skating officials died in a plane crash in Brussels while on the way to the world championships in Prague.

Zeghibe said the impact is still being felt decades later, NBC News reported.

“Almost half of everybody on board that plane (in 1961) were from this club. It had long, long reaching implications for the skating club and for the sport in this country, because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well,” he said.

“It’s been a long time in redeveloping it. I personally feel that this club, the Skating Club of Boston, has just now, almost sixty years later, been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash,” Zeghibe said. “So this is particularly devastating.”

World champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia execute a throw during the pairs short competition at the World Figure Skating competition in Edmonton, Alberta, March 19, 1996. | Dave Buston
Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.