Young figure skaters and their coaches were returning from a Kansas championship when their flight was involved in a fatal accident.
A passenger plane that crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with a military helicopter reportedly carried several renowned figure skaters and coaches. Among the victims, according to reports, were Russian world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
Flight 5342, en route from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, D.C., with 60 passengers and four crew members, collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. There were no survivors.
The Wichita Eagle, citing US Figure Skating, reported that passengers included athletes, coaches, and family members from the National Development Team, a program for elite young figure skaters.
The city recently hosted the national figure skating championships, and some of the young athletes had attended advanced training sessions, the publication added.
Several of the skaters had ties to Russia, news reports indicate. TASS named Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, a married pair who won the 1994 world championship, as being on board. Inna Volyanskaya, a medalist in Soviet and international competitions, was also reportedly among the passengers.
Some news outlets suggested that a significant portion of the young athletes were part of the Russian-American figure skating community.
Concerns arose regarding the presence of American skater Ilia Malinin, whose family emigrated from the USSR, but he confirmed he was not on the flight. Prominent skaters, including Malinin, Luke Wang, and Ethan Peal, have expressed shock and grief over the tragedy.