Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, former world champion ice skaters, were on an American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night. They won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994 and were married. They had lived in the United States since at least 1998 and coached young skaters.
The couple was returning from a competition and traveling with a group of young skaters. Russian news outlet Mash published a list of 13 skaters believed to be on the flight, many of whom were children of Russian emigrants in the U.S. Reports confirmed that Inna Volyanskaya, a former Soviet Union figure skater and a coach at the Washington Figure Skating Club, was also on board.
Some Russian news agencies speculated that Maxim Naumov, the couple’s son competing for the United States, might have been on the flight. However, competitor Anton Spiridonov stated he saw Maxim leave two days earlier.
The U.S. figure skating governing body, US Figure Skating, said that the athletes, coaches, and their families were returning from the National Development Camp, held during the US Figure Skating Championships in Kansas. They expressed deep sadness over the tragedy and offered condolences to the victims’ families.
The Kremlin also expressed condolences to the families of the Russian citizens who died in the crash, confirming that Shishkova and Naumov were on the flight. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated, “This is sad news from Washington. We mourn and send our condolences to the families and friends.”
The Russian Figure Skating Federation shared its sympathies but did not provide further comments.
The crash happened after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. Both aircraft went down in the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night. Officials have not confirmed the exact number of fatalities but said that there might be no survivors.