“Several” members of the U.S. Figure Skating team, their coaches and family members were killed in the collision involving an American Airlines passenger plane and a black hawk helicopter over Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington, D.C., U.S. Figure Skating confirmed in a statement obtained by ESPN Thursday (January 30) morning.
The skaters were on the American Airlines plane returning from a developmental camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in Wichita, Kansas, over the weekend.
“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.,” U.S. Figure Skating said, though not identifying the members of the team onboard the flight. “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
Two Russian nationals who worked as coaches in the US were identified by the Kremlin as Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and twice represented Russia in the Winter Olympics. Shishkova and Naumov were listed as coaches by the Skating Club of Boston and shared a son, Maxim Naumov, a competitive figure skater for the U.S.
“There were other of our fellow citizens there. Bad news from Washington today,” said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov Thursday morning via ESPN.
First responders are now treating the collision as a rescue mission as officials “don’t believe there are any survivors,” District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly said during a news briefing Thursday (January 30) morning via CBS News. Sixty-seven people were on the two aircrafts and at least 30 bodies were recovered as of 6:45 a.m. ET on Thursday.
The commercial plane, which was identified as American Airlines Flight 5342, which departed from Wichita, Kansas, earlier on Wednesday and was a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, was reported to be carrying 64 people at the time of the accident, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The black hawk chopper was identified as a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, was reported to be carrying three people. A source with knowledge of the situation told CBS News that “”Investigators are focusing on why the helicopter was flying at that location and altitude at that moment.”
An estimated 300 first responders were working through dark, cold and windy conditions as they attempted to execute “a rescue operation” in the Potomac River after midnight.
“Our fire department, DC fire and EMS, supported by fire departments and police departments from across the metropolitan region are executing a rescue operation in the Potomac River,” Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday via the New York Post.
“They are working diligently in very dark, cold conditions – cold water – to execute this rescue operation,” she added.
Several videos shared online showed footage of the collision and the aftermath of the crash.
A Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department helicopter was assisting in the multi-agency response, the department confirmed while also specifying that its chopper was not the one involved in the crash prior to the FAA update.
“MPD is responding to an apparent air crash in the Potomac River. Multiple agencies are responding. Details to come,” the department wrote on its X account. “MPD’s helicopter is NOT involved in this incident and is currently assisting in the multi-agency response. A multi-agency search and rescue operation is underway in the Potomac River after aircraft crash. Updates to follow.”
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