Potomac Crash

US Figure skaters, coaches among those on deadly plane crash in Potomac River

Members of the U.S. Figure skating community were returning from a development camp held after the national U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas

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Ross Lansel, skate coach at Skate Quest in Reston, Virginia, lost his ex-wife in the plane crash outside DCA on Wednesday night. He speaks about the tragic losses across the skating community.

Members of the U.S. Figure skating community were among those on an American Airlines flight Wednesday that collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.

The flight, operated by PSA Airlines, was traveling from Wichita, Kansas, and was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. Three people were onboard the helicopter at the time of the collision, officials said. In an update Thursday, Washington D.C. Fire and EMS chief John Donnelly said officials "don't believe there are any survivors."

"We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," Donnelly said, adding that as many as 28 bodies had been recovered.

Passengers on the flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp held after the national U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.

"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 DC," the statement said. "These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. 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 international governing body for figure skating said the global skating community was “deeply shocked” and heartbroken to learn that figure skaters and those close to them were onboard the flight.

“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,” the International Skating Union said in a statement.

The Kremlin confirmed that Russian figure skaters and other Russian nationals were also onboard the plane.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters Thursday that Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed at the Winter Olympics twice, were onboard the plane.

“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed. There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash,” he said.

He did not give details on how many fatalities there were.

Shishkova and Naumov are listed as professional pairs coaches on the website of the Skating Club of Boston. Their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.

American Airlines CEO releases statement on midair collision
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom issued a statement about the crash of an American Eagle passenger jet and a military helicopter near DCA.

What caused the collision? 

It remains unclear. In an update Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said both the helicopter and the plane had been traveling in "standard flight patterns," and the chopper and aircraft were both in contact with air traffic controllers.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said during the update they "don't know why the military chopper came into the flight path of the jet," adding that the military helicopter had been advised to go behind the aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair collision occurred around 9 p.m. EST when American Eagle flight 5342 that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military Blackhawk helicopter while on approach to an airport runway. The helicopter, carrying three people, was on a training flight, an official told the Associated Press.

A former NTSB investigator who worked on another crash in the area in 1982, said the airspace is highly restricted due to the presence of several monuments.

“It’s very tight airspace,” Alan Diehl told NBC's "Early Today".

“You really have to be on to your game. The pilots and the controllers that fly in and out of there are well trained and well aware of these restrictions," he said.

According to officials, the plane was operated by PSA Airlines, a regional airline that's a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group.

CNBC reports it is the worst air disaster on U.S. soil in more than 15 years.

‘We don't believe there are any survivors': Officials provide updates on collision near DCA
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and others held a press conference Thursday morning to provide the latest details on a mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter.

Are there any survivors?

In an update Friday, Washington D.C. Chief John Donnelly said officials were switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

"We don't believe there are any survivors," Donnelly said.

As of Thursday, 27 bodies were recovered from the plane, and one had been recovered from the helicopter.

Donnelly added that the plane's fuselage was found inverted. It was located in three different sections in waist deep water of the Potomac River.

A recovery center has been set up at the DC Fire Helipad at South Capitol Street SW in D.C. to receive remains from the Potomac River crash. Boats arrive at the area and ambulances transfer human remains to red tents, a sort of temporary morgue.

The D.C. Medical Examiner is calling the recovery center the largest recovery operation undertaken in D.C. in decades.

All takeoffs and landings from Reagan National Airport are halted until at least 10 a.m. CT Thursday.

As of early Thursday, hundreds of rescuers were searching the frigid waters of the Potomac River for any survivors of the crash.

Images showed boats around a partly submerged wing and what appeared to be the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage. Helicopters flew overhead with powerful search lights scanning the murky waters.

Emergency vehicles lit up the banks of the Potomac in a long line of blinking red lights.

As of early Thursday morning, the water temperature was just above freezing.

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