Spencer Lane,Evgenia Shishkova Obituary, Death; – Passengers on the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter and subsequently plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River included figure skaters returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, along with two of their Russian coaches.
The flight, which took place on Wednesday, carried 60 passengers and four crew members, while the Blackhawk helicopter was occupied by three soldiers. By dawn, hopes of finding any survivors had diminished significantly.
“We are now transitioning from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” stated John Donnelly, the fire chief of the nation’s capital, on Thursday morning. “We do not anticipate any survivors.”
Donnelly expressed confidence that the remains of those who perished in the crash would eventually be recovered, although the process may require considerable time. Among the deceased are two young figure skaters, their two parents, and two esteemed Russian figure skating coaches.
Doug Zeghibe, the chief executive of the Skating Club of Boston, confirmed on Thursday that skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were among the victims, along with coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. The identities of the parents who lost their lives have not been disclosed.
U.S. Figure Skating had previously acknowledged that several skaters, coaches, and their family members were aboard the commercial flight after participating in a development camp that followed the championships, which concluded on Sunday in Wichita, Kansas.
“We are heartbroken by this unimaginable tragedy and extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims,” U.S. Figure Skating expressed in a statement. The Kremlin identified two of the coaches as a Russian couple who were world champions in pairs skating three decades ago.
This incident marks another tragic event for the U.S. figure skating community, which was previously shaken by the loss of the 18-member U.S. team that was en route to the 1961 world championships in Prague when Sabena Flight 548 crashed on February 15, 1961, near Berg-Kampenhout, resulting in the deaths of six U.S. coaches and four skaters.
