DC plane crash victims: What we know about those aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, Army Black Hawk
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on January 30, 2025
(WASHINGTON) — Dozens of people are dead after a regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night over Washington, D.C., officials said, the nation’s first major commercial airline crash since 2009.
The aircraft went down in the frigid Potomac River, breaking into multiple pieces. The flight — which had departed from Wichita, Kansas — was approaching Reagan National Airport at the time of the collision, officials said.
There were no survivors in the crash, officials said Thursday.
There were 64 passengers aboard the plane, and three Army soldiers in the helicopter, according to officials. The soldiers, none of whom were senior leaders, were conducting a training mission, a defense official said.
Among those lost in the crash were 14 people who were returning home from a national figure skating development camp in Wichita, according to Doug Zeghibe, the CEO and executive director for the Skating Club of Boston.
Six of the victims were affiliated with the Skating Club of Boston, Zeghibe said.
“Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 or 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family,” Zeghibe said in a statement.
The U.S. Figure Skating organization confirmed that “several members” of the skating community had been on the flight.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” the organization said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”
Here’s what we know about the victims so far:
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, a married couple, were also killed in the crash, according to the Skating Club of Boston.
Naumov and Shishkova, who were figure skating coaches, were world champions in pairs competition in 1994.
They joined the club in 2017, Zeghibe said.
Jinna Han and Jin Han
Jinna Han, a figure skater, and Jin Han, her mother, were killed in the crash, according to the Skating Club of Boston.
Spencer Lane and Molly Lane
Skater Spencer Lane and his mother, Molly Lane, were among the victims, the Skating Club of Boston said.
Alexandr Kirsanov
Alexandr Kirsanov was a coach of two of the youth ice skaters on board, his wife, Natalya Gudin, told ABC News.
“I lost everything,” Gudin said. “I lost my husband, I lost my students, I lost my friends.”
Gudin said Kirsanov traveled with two youth skaters to attend a development camp in Kansas this week. Gudin, who also coaches students with her husband in Delaware, said she stayed home to be with their other skaters.
She last spoke with her husband as he boarded the flight on Wednesday, she said.
“I need my husband back,” Gudin said. “I need his body back.”
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