Russian ex-world champs, US figure skaters aboard plane that crashed near Washington

The married couple Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov lived in America where they trained young skaters. Their son was also feared to have been on board the plane.

File photo of Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov performing at the World Figure Skating Championships in Edmonton, Canada in 1996 | Reuters/Mike Blake

New Delhi: Several American figure skaters as well as a renowned Russian skating couple were aboard the Washington-bound passenger plane that collided midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy, choppy waters of the Potomac River on Wednesday.

The plane, operated by American Airlines, had 60 passengers and four crew on board, while the Black Hawk chopper had three army men. The plane took off from Wichita, Kansas and was preparing to land when it collided with the helicopter near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C.

“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. These 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,” the skating body said in a statement.

“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.”

Russian ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also on board the Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.

The married couple won the world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994 and lived in the United States, where they trained young ice skaters.

Their son Maxim was also feared to have been on board the plane, Russia’s TASS and RIA news agencies reported. He had been competing at the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas from 20-26 January, according to the event’s website.

Meanwhile, while there was no official announcement on casualties, several outlets have reported that nearly 20 bodies have been pulled out of the Potomac, while it is feared that there may not be any survivors.

The rescue operation was becoming increasingly grim as responders worked overnight in freezing conditions. Sources told CNN that the plane was in several pieces.

Temperatures will continue to drop through the overnight hours, sources said, to just below freezing by 6 am. By the end of the day on Thursday, rainfall from an approaching storm is also expected to begin to impact the area.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed early Thursday that “both aircraft are in the water”, and that 64 people were onboard the passenger plane and three were in the military helicopter. “The focus now is rescuing people, and that’s what all of our personnel are focused on,” Bowser said.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office dive team was also assisting efforts to locate victims of the plane-helicopter collision. The Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team (USERT) comprises specially-trained agents stationed across the country who are tasked with searching for and recovering submerged evidence.

There were around 300 responders working in the search operation at the Potomac, DC’s fire chief John Donnelly said at a press conference at Reagan National Airport.

The Potomac River has an average depth of 24 feet, averaging approximately 400 miles long from its headwaters at North Branch to its mouth in the Chesapeake Bay, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on their website. The deepest point near Morgantown, Maryland, is 107 feet, it added.