Among the passengers on American Airlines Flight 5342 that collided with a United States Army helicopter on Wednesday evening at approximately nine o’clock, were Russian champion figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. Shishkova and Naumov won the World Figure Skating Championship in Pairs in 1999.
Several other members of the skating community were also on board, according to the announcement made by USA Figure Skating.
Following their participation in the National Development Camp that was conducted in Wichita, Kansas, the skaters, along with their coaches and family, were going back home.
United States of America Figure Skating issued a statement that read, “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the families of the victims closely in our hearts.”
As new information becomes available, we will continue to keep a close eye on the situation and will make it public as soon as possible.
It was widely believed that Maxim, who is 23 years old and the son of Shishkova and Naumov, was also a member of the camp. However, a fellow teammate named Anton Spiridonov asserted that Maxim had left Wichita on Monday and did not travel with his parents.
“I was not a passenger on the flight. According to Spiridonov, “I believe that people I knew were involved.” It was not possible to get Maxim Naumov on board because he had left Wichita on Monday.
The two of us were both at the airport at the same time, and we both went through security.
According to Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, the oldest newspaper in Russia, the couple wrote a message to their son, expressing their deep pride in his achievements and congratulating him on coming in fourth place in a competition just a few days before the accident.
In a post on social media, the couple expressed their pride in Maxim by writing, “We are proud of you.” While competing in the short program at the Nationals, he finished seventh overall, which allowed him to make it to the podium. Collaboration was the driving force behind this performance, which is both beautiful and sad. It is because of his hard work that Maxim has earned a spot on the team of champions from all four continents.
Following their careers as coaches in the Russian city of Leningrad, the pair relocated to the United States of America in the year 1998.
There were no active Russian figure skaters on Flight 5342, according to Olga Yermolina, a representative for Russia’s figure skating league, who discussed the matter with Zvezda.
According to Yermolina, “We are required to observe the official lists.”
“These are individuals who were formerly trained or performed with the Russian national team or the Soviet Union, but now they are citizens of the United States of America,” these individuals said.
According to John Donnelly, the chief of fire and emergency medical services in the District of Columbia, they suspect that all 64 passengers who were on board may have perished.
In addition to the fact that we have rescued 27 people from the plane and one person from the helicopter, he stated that they do not believe there are any survivors from this tragedy.
In addition, the Potomac river, which is the location where the plane hit the ground, had recently frozen, which made it incredibly challenging for police divers and boats to scour the water for survivors.
According to the officials, the operation is anticipated to extend for a number of days.