Among the earliest confirmed victims of the American Airlines jet carrying 64 people that collided in midair with an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers were two figure skaters returning from the US figure skating championships, along with two of their coaches and two of their parents.
The Skating Club of Boston said in a statement on Thursday that Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, along with parents Jin Han and Christine Lane and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the plane on Wednesday night.
The group was returning from the US figure skating national development camp, a program for “young competitive skaters of tomorrow”, following last week’s US championships in Wichita, Kansas.
“Our sport and this club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” said Doug Zeghibe, the CEO and director of the Skating Club of Boston. “Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together six or seven days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family.
“We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.”
The most recent post on Lane’s Instagram profile was a photograph from the inside of a plane on a runway, with the caption “ICT -> DCA” – the codes for Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower National airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National airport in Washington DC.
The Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions Shishkova and Naumov, who were married, won the 1994 world championships in pairs figure skating. They have reportedly lived in the US since at least 1998, where they trained young skaters.
Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater who competed for the Soviet Union and was a coach at the Washington figure skating club, was also reported to have been on board.
In a statement, US Figure Skating, the sport’s domestic governing body, said: “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
The International Skating Union added that the global skating community is “deeply shocked by the tragic accident involving an American Airlines flight in Washington, DC last night”.
“We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends, and coaches, are understood to be among those on board” the statement added. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport – it’s a close-knit family – and we stand together. We remain in close contact with US Figure Skating and offer our full support during this incredibly difficult time.”
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said in a statement on Thursday that the committee is “deeply saddened by the tragic air accident in Washington DC”, adding that “on behalf of the IOC, and personally, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those affected, which we understand may include Olympians, young athletes, and their support staff”.
“Our thoughts are with all the victims, their families and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Bach added.
The Kremlin also indicated in a statement that Shishkova and Naumov as well as several other Russians were onboard.
“There were other of our fellow citizens on board. It’s bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send our condolences to families and friends,” the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters.
Natalya Gudin, the wife of ice skating coach Alexandr Kirsanov, told ABC News that her husband and two young ice skaters he was coaching were on board the flight.
Gudin, who is also an ice skating coach, told the outlet she decided to stay home in Delaware while her husband flew to Kansas for the camp and that she last spoke with him as he boarded the flight on Wednesday.
“I lost my husband, I lost my students, I lost my friends,” Gudin said. “I need my husband back. I need his body back.”
She has “lost everything”, she said.
On social media, a woman said that her husband, Ian Epstein, a North Carolina-based flight attendant, was also aboard the plane.
Debi Epstein wrote in a post on Facebook that it is “with very heavy heart and extreme sadness that myself along with our children Hannah Epstein and Joanna Epstein and his sister Robbie Epstein Bloom her husband Steven Bloom and nieces Andi and Dani inform you that Ian Epstein was one of the flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 5342 that collided last night when they were landing in DC”.
“Please pray for Ian and our family as we travel to DC,” she added. “We will update when plans are made.”
On Epstein’s own facebook page, it lists that he worked at PSA Airlines, which is part of the American Airlines Group.
Other facebook users have posted about the news regarding Epstein, describing him as someone who was “passionate about flying” and someone who loved his job.
“I will never forget walking you thru the airport after you saved and safely evacuated 80 people out of a burning plane a few years ago,” one user wrote. “And everyone applauding you as you walked through the terminal.”
American Airlines has not released the names of the flight crew members.
On Thursday morning, US officials said that they don’t believe that there are any survivors.