US, Russian Figure Skaters on Board Plane That Crashed Near Washington

Boats work the scene in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 30, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Multiple figure skaters were on board an American Airlines regional passenger plane that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, U.S. Figure Skating has said.

The jet, identified as a CRJ700 operated by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was on a flight from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. It was approaching Reagan Airport in Crystal City, Virginia, about five miles from Washington, when the mid-air collision occurred at about 9 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

U.S. Figure Skating, the governing body for the sport in the United States, said in a statement that “several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342.”

The organization said the athletes, coaches, and family members on board the flight had been returning home from the National Development Camp, a competition held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” the statement said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

Russian state media reported that former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also on board the plane.

Shishkova and Naumov, who were married to each other, won the world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994 and had reportedly lived in the United States since at least 1998, where they trained young ice skaters.

Naumov had been competing at the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, according to the event’s website.

The U.S. Army described the helicopter as a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The UH-60 is part of the Sikorsky H-60 family of helicopters.

The helicopter was on a training flight when the collision occurred, the Army said.

Rescue Efforts Underway

American Airlines confirmed there were 60 passengers and four crew members on board American Eagle Flight 5342.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a press conference that three soldiers were aboard the military helicopter.

It is not yet clear what caused the crash and officials have not said how many people died in the accident but have suggested that there may be no survivors.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently leading a major search-and-rescue operation on the Potomac River.

Some 300 first responders were at the scene and launched inflatable rescue boats into the river from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport.

All takeoffs and landings from the airport near the capital were temporarily halted as search and rescue efforts got underway.

In a statement released late Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he had been “fully briefed on the terrible accident” at the airport and was monitoring the situation.

“May God Bless their souls,” he said. The president thanked the first responders for their work.

In a follow-up post, Trump said the incident could have been prevented.

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn,” he wrote.

“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

The Epoch Times has contacted U.S. Figure Skating for further comment.

Melanie Sun and Reuters contributed to this report.