NORWOOD, Mass. (AP) 鈥 Two teenage figure skaters, their mothers and two world champion coaches from Boston were among the 14 members of the skating community killed when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River.
Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe said Thursday that skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were among those killed, along with 1994 pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. In all, 14 of the victims were coming back from a national development camp for promising young skaters following the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas, Zeghibe said.
鈥淪kating is a very close and tight-knit community. These kids and their parents, they鈥檙e here at our facility in Norwood, six, sometimes seven days a week. It鈥檚 a close, tight bond,鈥 Zeghibe said. 鈥淭his will have long-reaching impacts for our skating community.鈥
The Kremlin also confirmed that Shishkova and Naumov were aboard. Among their students is their 23-year-old son, Maxim, a former U.S. junior champion who has finished fourth at senior nationals the past three years, narrowly missing the podium on Sunday while his parents watched at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita.
Maxim Naumov flew home Monday. 鈥淗e had no reason to stay at the national development camp,鈥 Zeghibe said in a briefing inside the rink about 30 minutes south of Boston.
鈥淏oth of his parents were with him while he was competing. It鈥檚 well-known Mom was always too nervous to watch him skate," the club official said, pausing to contain his emotions. 鈥淏ut his dad was with him, and Dad was in the 鈥榢iss-and-cry鈥 sharing his great performance.鈥
Sixty passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines plane and three soldiers aboard a training flight on the Blackhawk helicopter are presumed dead after There was no immediate cause identified, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.
Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly said officials do not believe anyone survived.
鈥淲e are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends and coaches, are understood to be among those on board,鈥 U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement. 鈥淥ur thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.
鈥淔igure skating is more than a sport 鈥 it鈥檚 a close-knit family 鈥 and we stand together.鈥
Considered one of the most prestigious clubs in the world, the Skating Club of Boston produced Olympic and world champions Dick Button and Tenley Albright, Olympic medalists Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wylie and scores of U.S. champions.
Among them were Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who won the pairs title last week. The club sent 18 skaters to Wichita, including Jimmy Ma, who finished fifth at the U.S. championships on Sunday.
Spencer Lane is a sectionals champion who had become popular among the skating community on social media, where he has thousands of TikTok followers. On Wednesday, he had posted a video showing him doing a triple toe loop to wrap up the development camp.
鈥淚 am so happy to have qualified for national development camp earlier in November. It has been my goal almost ever since I became aware that it was a thing. I learned so much new information that I can apply to my everyday life, and met so many amazing people,鈥 Lane had said in an Instagram post Wednesday.
He later posted a photo of him aboard the plane just before it departed from Wichita.
鈥淚鈥檓 heartbroken by the tragic loss of my fellow skaters in this devastating accident,鈥 said reigning world champion Ilia Malinin, who won his third consecutive national title in Wichita. 鈥淭he figure skating community is a family, and this loss is beyond words.鈥
Naumov and Shishkova moved to the U.S. and became coaches, first at the International Skating Center of Connecticut and since 2017 at the Boston club that has served as a training ground for world-class skaters since 1912.
For the Boston club, the accident was an eerie reminder of a 1961 plane crash that killed the entire U.S. delegation en route to the world championships in Prague. The world championships were canceled that year out of respect for the American team killed in the crash.
鈥淎lmost half of everybody on board that plane were from this club," Zeghibe said. 鈥淚t had long, long-reaching implications for the skating club and for the sport in this country, because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well. It鈥檚 been a long time in redeveloping it, and I personally feel that this club has just now, almost 60 years later, been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash.鈥
The European championships are taking place this week in Tallinn, Estonia. They were expected to continue as scheduled.
鈥淭he International Skating Union and the global skating community are deeply shocked by the tragic accident involving an American Airlines flight in Washington, D.C. We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends, and coaches, are understood to be among those on board,鈥 the ISU said in a statement. 鈥淲e remain in close contact with U.S. Figure Skating and offer our full support during this incredibly difficult time.鈥
Zeghibe said the club was proceeding with plans to host worlds at the TD Garden from March 25-30. In the lobby of the club's new facility, banners promoting the event were alongside a table cheering on the contingent in Wichita.
Flowers began to arrive at the reception desk by late the morning. At the practice rink, a girl warmed up while a Zamboni cleaned the ice.
鈥淪katers are resilient, and they want to skate. I think also they come to the club and will come to the club as an opportunity to come together and to grieve together," Zeghibe said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty busy and we can鈥檛 take a break. We need to keep moving.鈥
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Skretta reported from Kansas City, Missouri.
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