Who are Evgenia Shishkova, Vadim Naumov? All about world champion Russian skaters onboard crashed Washington DC plane

Washington DC plane crash: Ace Russian skaters were on board a US passenger jet that collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday. According to Russian news agencies, the world champion couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the 1994 pairs title, were on the plane carrying 60 passengers.

While approaching Reagan National Airport, the American Airlines regional aircraft collided midair with the military helicopter on Wednesday evening and crashed into the river near Washington DC. On Thursday, rescue boats were spotted searching through the waters of the Potomac River for the wreckage of the plane.

Former pair skater Inna Volyanskaya, who competed for the Soviet Union, was also among the passengers, Russian agencies reported. In a post on X, US Figure Skating informed that members of the US figure-skating community were also onboard, who were returning from the national championships in Wichita.

Reacting to the tragic incident, US President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said, “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time." He added, “It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn.”

Regional jet collides with military helicopter

In addition to the passengers, there were 4 crew members onboard Flight 5342 which departed from Wichita, Kansas. The flight reportedly struck the Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter that had three military personnel on board.

Despite the rescue efforts that continued through the night to retrieve any survivors, no one was found alive. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly said, “At this point, we don’t believe that there are any survivors from this accident,” Bloomberg reported. He added, “These responders found extremely frigid conditions. They found heavy wind. They found ice on the water, and they’ve operated all night in those conditions.”

Clear weather conditions

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday said, "Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely," AFP reported. In the tragic accident, it is suspected that all passengers aboard both aircraft might have been killed. According to authorities, the Wednesday night collision occurred in clear weather conditions.

(This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest updates)