2 figure skaters from The Skating Club of Boston, their mothers and coaches among D.C. plane crash victims
NORWOOD - The Skating Club of Boston lost two coaches, two young skaters and their mothers in the deadly crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 in Washington, D.C., an official with the club confirmed Thursday.
Club CEO Doug Zeghibe identified the skaters as 16-year-old Spencer Lane and 13-year-old Jinna Han. Lane's mother Christine Lane and Han's mother Jin Han were also on the plane. The coaches were Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova.
"Six is a horrific number for us. But we're fortunate and grateful it wasn't more than six. This will have long, reaching impacts for our skating community," Zeghibe told reporters at a news conference at the club's headquarters in Norwood, Massachusetts.
Potomac River crash
All six were on the flight from Wichita, Kansas to Reagan National Airport when it collided midair with an Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River late Wednesday night, according to Zeghibe. President Trump said there were no survivors.
The group was returning home from the National Development Camp that was held in connection with the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
"It's a close, tight bond. I think for all of us, we have lost family," Zeghibe told reporters.
Spencer Lane
Zeghibe said Spencer Lane was "incredibly talented" and "rocketing to the top of the sport."
Lane and his mother lived in Barrington, Rhode Island. The superintendent of schools said he left Barrington High School in 2023 "to pursue a promising career in figure skating."
"Our entire Barrington community mourns with the Lane family, the Skating Club of Boston, and all who knew and loved Christine and Spencer Lane. Spencer was a talented and driven young athlete with a bright future, and this is an unimaginable loss," Superintendent Robert Wargo said in a statement.
Spencer's father told WPRI-TV his son was a "force of nature."
Jinna Han
Figure skaters from the club who competed at the national championships in Kansas said Lane and Han were the "next generation."
"Jinna, just a wonderful kid. Wonderful parents. Great competitor. Loved by all," Zeghibe said of the 13-year-old from Mansfield, Massachusetts.
"I don't think we're ever going to forget them. That is for certain. How we commemorate them here we haven't gotten to that point to discuss, but we certainly will. Just definitely very important and well loved members of our community."
Russian figure skaters in plane crash
The coaches, Naumov and Shishkova, were married, lived in Norwood and were both born in Russia. They won the world championship in pairs skating in 1994. They also competed in the Olympics twice, in 1992 in Albertville, France where they placed fifth and in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway where they finished fourth.
Both had been coaching for more than 20 years, according to their profiles on The Skating Club of Boston's website.
"They came to us in 2017 and were very much a part of our building the competitive skating program here at The Skating Club of Boston. Very popular with families. Proven success, which is why I think they had so many kids at the championships and at the National Development Camp. So it's a major personal loss, but it's also a loss to our skating community," Zeghibe said.
"I like to share my passion and love for the sport of figure skating with my students. I want all of them to have a positive experience in their skating endeavors," Shishkova said in her bio.
"I love to create an environment where students have fun while working hard. I also believe that helping and guiding athletes through their emotional challenges, ups and downs during training and competing are coach's responsibilities," Naumov wrote in his profile.
Zeghibe told reporters the couple had a 23-year-old son Max, who is also a figure skater. He finished fourth in the senior men's event in Kansas and returned home Monday with Zeghibe.
The Skating Club of Boston is hosting the World Figure Skating Championships in Boston on March 26 to 30 at TD Garden.
"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," U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement Thursday.
1961 US figure skaters plane crash
"Sadly this isn't the first time this club has experienced a tragedy like this," Zeghibe said at the news conference.
"In 1961 the entire world team of U.S. Figure Skating, en route to the world championships in Prague, was lost in a plane crash in Belgium. Almost half of everybody on board that plane were with this club."
That plane crashed on February 15, 1961. All 18 members of the U.S. team were killed.
"It had long-reaching implications for the skating club and for the sport in this country. Because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well. It's been a long time in redeveloping it. I personally feel that this club, The Skating Club of Boston, has just now almost 60 years later been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash. So this is particularly devastating."