The former Russian world champion figure skaters on board the doomed American Airlines plane that crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter over Washington told their son they are ‘proud’ of him before the tragedy.
Married couple Evgenia Shishkova, 53, and Vadim Naumov, 56, were travelling back to DC on Flight 5342 after attending the US Figure Skating Championships in Kansas.
Their son, Maxim Naumov, 23, a prominent Team USA skater, did not fly with them. A teammate claimed he left Wichita on Monday.
According to a report in Moscow, Evgenia and Vadim told Maxim that were ‘proud’ of him after he took fourth place in the competition a couple of days prior to the crash.
‘We are proud of you, Maxim,’ the couple said in a social media post shared by Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, Russia’s oldest newspaper.
‘He climbed to the podium at the Nationals after seventh place in the short program. This beautiful and emotional performance is the result of teamwork. Maxim has earned his place in the team of champions of four continents.’
US figure skating has confirmed that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on board the flight, and had been returning home from the National Development Camp which is held in conjunction with the national championships.
‘We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available,’ the sport governing body said in a statement.
American figure skater John Maravilla, as reported by RIA Novosti, said: ‘I don’t want to name names, but there were around 14 figure skaters on the plane, not counting their parents and several coaches.’
The regional passenger jet and the US Army helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision as the plane approached Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said.
American Airlines confirmed there were 60 passengers and four crew members on board.
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were born in Leningrad and competed in pairs skating for the national teams of the USSR and Russia, winning the World Championship in 1994.
They moved to the US in 1998 and worked as coaches.
The couple were reported to have been returning from the competition and travelling with a group of young skaters.
Maxim, who placed fourth at the competition in Wichita, reportedly left Kansas with US figure skater Anton Spiridonov on Monday.
‘I wasn’t on the flight. People I knew, I think, were,’ Spiridonov said. ‘Maxim Naumov was not on board – he left Wichita on Monday.
‘He was at the airport with me, going through security at the same time.’
However, Maxim’s parents were on board, Spiridonov said.
Skating fans have posted heartfelt tributes to on Maxim and his parents’ social media accounts today.
Maxim, whose parents were his coaches, once said: ‘I want to thank my parents and my sister who opened the door [to figure skating].’
The International Skating Union said in a statement on the crash today: ‘We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends and coaches, are understood to be among those on board.
‘Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport — it’s a close-knit family — and we stand together.’
As many as 15 people on the flight may have been involved in figure skating, according to reports.
Russia’s Mash news outlet published a list of 13 skaters, many of them the children of Russian emigres to the United States, who it said were believed to have been on the plane.
Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater who competed for the Soviet Union, was also reported to have been on board, TASS said. She was a coach at the Washington figure skating club, according to its website.
There were no currently active Russian figure skaters on board Flight 5342, Olga Yermolina, spokeswoman for the country’s figure skating federation, told Zvezda.
‘We have to wait for the official lists,’ Yermolina said.
‘These are people with other passports who once performed or trained with the USSR or Russian national team, but now they are US citizens.’
The plane is said to have split in two and is in around seven feet of water, while the helicopter is upside down and is unstable, according to the outlet.
Images captured at the scene show emergency officials on boats around what appears to be part of the fuselage and a wing jutting out of the river.
The Federal Aviation Authority said that the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, collided with a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Runway 33.
Defense officials have confirmed that the Black Hawk was an Army chopper carrying three soldiers on a training flight.
