Russian figure-skating coaches and spouses Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were among the passengers onboard the doomed American Airlines plane that collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night with no survivors.
Ludmila Velikova, who trained Shishkova, 53, and Naumov, 56, when they were children, told Reuters the couple was like family to her — and that she was relieved their son, Maxim, a competitive figure skater for the U.S., had not been on the same plane.
“Apart from anything else they were my children,” said Velikova, adding that a group of 14 skaters and trainers had been on board the plane, which was traveling from Wichita, Kansas.
“Zhenya (Shishkova) trained with me from the age of 11 and Vladik (Naumov) from age 14. They were like my own children. What’s happened is awful. The best people have been taken away from us.”
Shishkova and Naumov — who competed twice in the Olympics and won the World Championships in pairs in 1994 — were in Kansas for a national developmental camp which was in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where Maxim competed and placed fourth.
According to the Daily Mail, a teammate said Maxim left Wichita on Monday and that the final words Shishkova and Naumov expressed to their son was that they were “proud” of him.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the military helicopter was on a training flight when it collided midair with the passenger jet and crashed into the Potomac River before 9 p.m. ET.
There were 60 passengers and four crew members on board American Eagle Flight 5342 en route from Wichita to Washington, D.C., American Airlines said.
The military helicopter was carrying three people, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
Chief John Donnelly of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services said in a press conference Thursday that 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter.
“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” Donnelly said.
An estimated 300 first responders were on the scene in frigid temperatures and icy waters.
U.S. Figure Skating did not identify members of its community — including skaters, coaches and family members — that were aboard the flight.
“U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement. “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
Shishkova and Naumov were coaches affiliated with the Skating Club of Boston.
Doug Zeghibe, the club’s CEO, told reporters in Massachusetts that 14 figure skaters are feared to have died in the tragic collision, including two coaches, two skaters and two mothers.
