Russian figure skaters were on board the plane that crashed in Washington, DC
30 January 16:11
On the night of January 30, 2025, when American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., several members of the sports community were among the victims of the disaster, including famous figure skaters, their coaches, and families. There were also Russians among them, Komersant ukrainskyi reports citing NBC NEWS.
According to an official statement from the U.S. Figure Skating Federation, “some members of the community” were on board the plane.
“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 statement reads.
The Federation expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims. They also promised to continue monitoring the situation and provide new information as needed.
According to Russian media, two famous Russian figure skaters were among the dead: Yevgenia Shishkova (52) and Vadim Naumov (55), who were winners of the 1994 World Cup in pairs figure skating and were considered one of the best coaches of the Russian national team. Apparently, they had recently been working in the United States. Their inclusion in the list of the dead was confirmed by several sources, including the state-run TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies.
Meanwhile, another Russian-American figure skater, Anton Spiridonov, who won a silver medal for the United States at the 2023 Winter Universiade, confirmed via Instagram that he was not among the passengers, despite reports in the Russian media that he was on board.
Families and friends of the skaters were also on board, as many athletes traveled with their families after competitions and training sessions. It is known that both adults and children were among the victims.
The identification of all the victims is still ongoing. The list of victims has not yet been made public in full, as the investigation is still ongoing.
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Details of the crash
The crash occurred when the plane was performing a landing maneuver. A US Army helicopter was flying near the airport at the time. Witnesses report that after the collision, both aircraft caught fire and fell into the water.
The plane had 60 passengers and 4 crew members on board. The helicopter was carrying 3 soldiers. According to current reports, there are no survivors.
Rescuers, divers and emergency services are currently working at the crash site. Some of the wreckage has already been recovered from the river. Authorities have declared the crash zone a closed area.
US President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said that the federal authorities would do everything possible to find out the causes of the tragedy.
“We pray for everyone on board,” he said,
– he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation. Experts are analyzing the records of dispatcher conversations and radar data. It is known that the weather conditions were favorable and the pilots did not send any emergency signals before the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the plane was in good condition and the crew had enough experience.
Due to the crash, some flights at Reagan National Airport were canceled or diverted to other air havens. Relatives and friends of the passengers are gathering at the airport, waiting for confirmation of the victims’ identities.
Investigators are planning to recover the black boxes of the airplane and helicopter from the river bottom to reconstruct the last moments of the flight and find out the causes of the collision.