A Massachusetts skating club has learned that six of its community members were among those on board an American Airlines flight that collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River Wednesday night.
U.S. Figure Skating has said that several members of the skating community were on board American Airlines Flight 5342, including athletes, coaches and family members. They were returning home from the National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas.
Doug Zeghibe, CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, confirmed they had two teenage skaters, two coaches and two parents on the flight.
The skaters were identified as Spencer Lane and Jinna Han. They were accompanied by their mothers, Molly Lane and Jin Han. Former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who coached young skaters for the club, were also on the plane.
“I don’t know what the word is, is it wrecked is it devastated? Folks are just stunned by this,” Zeghibe said Thursday.
Zeghibe described Spencer and Jinna as talented athletes and young leaders among the club’s skaters. Their families were also extremely involved.
“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community. These kids and their parents, they’re here at our facility in Norwood six, sometimes seven days a week,” Zeghibe said. “It’s a close, tight bond and I think for all of us, we have lost family.”
Originally from Russia, Shishkova and Naumov joined the staff at The Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, in 2017, according to the club website. Shishkova, 52, and Naumov, 55, won the pairs figure skating event at the 1994 World Championship. The couple has been living in the U.S. since 1998 after retiring from competitive skating, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Their son Maxim Naumov, who trained in Norwood, competed for the U.S. and was the U.S. National Novice Championship in 2017. He had previously returned from the training camp and was not on the plane.
Zeghibe said the loss of the young athletes and coaches was not only a devastating loss to the club personally, but also a loss for the future of skating as a whole.
An American Eagle passenger plane collided with a military helicopter while on approach to Reagan National Airport.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
