14 linked to figure skating were on crashed airplane in D.C. - ESPN

Fourteen members of the figure skating community were passengers on an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, according to Skating Club of Boston executive director Doug Zeghibe.

Zeghibe said six members or associates of the Skating Club of Boston were killed in the crash, including teenage skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane and their mothers.

Also killed were Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. They were listed as coaching at the Boston club.

«Skating is a very close and tight-knit community. These kids and their parents, they're here at our facility in Norwood, six, sometimes seven days a week. It's a close, tight bond,» Zeghibe said. «This will have long-reaching impacts for our skating community.»

U.S. Figure Skating said the skaters were returning from a developmental camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships over the weekend in Wichita, Kansas.

«U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.,» the organization said in a statement. «We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts.»

The flight carried 60 passengers and four crew members, while an Army official said three soldiers were aboard the helicopter. The airplane collided with the helicopter while attempting to land, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the Potomac River.

Washington fire chief John Donnelly said Thursday