A devastating midair collision near Washington, D.C., has claimed the lives of passengers aboard an American Airlines jet, including figure skaters, coaches, and family members. The aircraft, attempting to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, struck a U.S. Army helicopter before plunging into the Potomac River on Wednesday evening.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that several members of its community were on board, returning from a developmental camp following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. In a statement, the organization expressed profound sorrow, calling the accident an “unspeakable tragedy” and extending condolences to the victims’ families. However, it has not publicly identified those lost.
The flight carried 60 passengers and four crew members, while the Army helicopter had three soldiers aboard. Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly stated Thursday morning that no survivors were expected, and the mission had shifted to a recovery operation. Rescue teams have recovered 27 bodies from the aircraft and one from the helicopter.
Among the victims were Russian-born coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, former world champion figure skaters and Olympic competitors. The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches, and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive skater representing the U.S. Russian officials confirmed their deaths, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling the crash “devastating news from Washington.” Russia’s figure skating federation offered condolences but declined further comment.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the crash occurred just before 9 p.m. ET when the regional jet, en route from Wichita, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight. Investigators are now piecing together the aircrafts’ final moments, analyzing air traffic control communications and the jet’s descent.
Less than 30 seconds before impact, a controller asked the helicopter’s pilot if they had visual contact with the approaching plane. Seconds later, the aircrafts collided.
Emergency crews launched a large-scale search-and-recovery effort. More than 300 first responders were on the scene, with inflatable boats navigating the river and searchlights scanning the wreckage. Air traffic at Reagan National was halted overnight but was expected to resume by late Thursday morning.
The tragedy echoes past aviation disasters in the region. In 1961, an 18-member U.S. figure skating team perished in a crash en route to the world championships in Prague. In 1982, an Air Florida jet plunged into the Potomac, killing 78 people.
Images from the crash site show debris floating in the river, with portions of the aircraft’s fuselage barely visible above the water. President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the accident, offering prayers for the victims. The International Skating Union also released a statement, mourning the loss and emphasizing the sport’s close-knit community.
“This is more than a sport—it’s a family,” the statement read. “We stand together in this time of heartbreak and extend our full support to U.S. Figure Skating.”
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