Russian Skating Champions Shishkova & Naumov Among Victims of US Plane Crash

US Plane Crash: In a devastating event, on Wednesday night, an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided in midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter, crashing into the Potomac River near Washington. Among the passengers on board were Evgenia Shishkova, 53, and Vadim Naumov, 56, former world champion figure skaters who won the World Figure Skating Championship in pairs in 1994. According to American Airlines, there were 60 passengers and four crew members on board at the time of the incident.

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Married World Champion skaters were on board the ill-fated flight

The couple was returning to DC after attending a skating championship on Flight 5342, en route from Wichita, while their son, 23-year-old Maxim Naumov, is a prominent skater for Team USA; he did not accompany his parents but had competed at the US Figure Skating Championships in Kansas City.

Shishkova and Naumov, both born in Leningrad, were famous personalities in the world of pairs skating, having represented the USSR and later Russia. The couple won the World Championship in 1994 and emigrated to the US in 1998 to start coaching. Media reports say they were returning from the National Development Camp, where they were travelling with a group of young skaters.

Maxim finished fourth in the competition in Wichita and is said to have left Kansas with American figure skater Anton Spiridonov on Monday. Spiridonov said, “I wasn't on the flight. People I knew, I think, were. Maxim Naumov was not on board - he left Wichita on Monday. He was at the airport with me, going through security at the same time,” as reported by Daily Mail. However, he confirmed that his parents were on the flight.

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US Figure Skating releases statement

US Figure Skating confirmed that numerous skaters, coaches, and family members flew on the doomed flight to their homes after the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the National Championships. In a statement, the sports governing body said, “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

John Maravilla, an American figure skater said, “I don't want to name names, but there were around 14 figure skaters on the plane, not counting their parents and several coaches,” as reported by RIA Novosti.

Russia's Mash news outlet published a list of thirteen skaters, many of whom are children of Russian emigres to the States, thought to be aboard the fateful plane. Olga Yermolina, a representative of the Russian figure skating federation, confirmed for Zvezda that no active Russian figure skaters were on board Flight 5342.

Reportedly, the airplane is broken into two and is seven feet inverted in the water while the helicopter is laid upside down and unstable.

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