An American Airlines jet collided midair with a military helicopter in Washington DC on Wednesday evening, killing 67 people.
A pair of 16-year-old figure skaters, their parents and two former Russian skating champions were among the victims of a collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter that killed 67 people.
There were 60 travellers and four crew members on board the commercial flight when it collided on Wednesday night with the Black Hawk helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers.
The Skating Club of Boston confirmed in a statement on Thursday that teen skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, both 16, along with their parents Jin Han and Christine Lane, were among the victims of the crash. They had been returning from the US Figure Skating Championships.
Travelling with them were Russian-born former world champions and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, as well as Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater who competed for the Soviet Union and was a coach at the skating club.
“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community … I think for all of us, we have lost family,” Boston skating club’s chief executive Doug Zeghibe said on Thursday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the deaths of Shishkova and Naumov on Thursday.
“Bad news from Washington today. We grieve and offer condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in this plane crash,” he said.
Kansas City Star newspaper said that figure skaters Everly and Alydia Livingston, aged 14 and 11, were also killed in the crash alongside their parents Peter and Donna.
The Delaware News Journal said youth ice skaters Angela Yang and Sean Kay were also among those killed.
In a statement, US Figure Skating, the sport’s domestic governing body, said it was “devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
Two schools in Virginia said that some of the victims were former students, as well as three current students and six of their parents. Two of the parents were among former staff, the schools said in a statement.
Senator Maria Cantwell, the leading Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, said among the fatalities were also citizens from the Philippines and Germany. The Chinese embassy in Washington said that two Chinese nationals were among those killed.
Although American Airlines has not released the names of the flight crew members, the pilot and first officer were identified as 34-year-old Jonathan Campos and 28-year-old Sam Lilley in domestic media reports.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, but authorities on Friday found the black boxes for the commercial flight. Questions have been raised about a lack of air traffic control staff at the airport where the plane was landing, according to US media.
US President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that lower hiring standards for air traffic controllers under the previous Biden administration may have been a factor in the crash.
Later on Thursday, he signed a memorandum to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in the aviation sector and an executive order to appoint a new head of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Additional sources • AP
