Washington, DC: Search for survivors after midair crash

Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe on Thursday confirmed that a number of accomplished figure skaters were among those killed in Wednesday evening's crash. 

Two teen skaters, Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, and their mothers were among the victims, as were 1994 pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

A total of 14 skaters were on the flight, according to Zeghibe, who said the incident would "have long-reaching impacts for our skating community." 

Russians Shishkova and Naumov had been coaching at the prestigious Boston club since 2017. Their 23-year-old son Maxim, a former US junior champion, was originally feared to have been on the plane with them. He was not.  

Spencer Lee, the 2025 intermediate eastern sectionals champion, posted to his thousands of social media followers late Wednesday: "I am so happy to have qualified for national development camp earlier in November. It has been my goal almost ever since I became aware that it was a thing. I learned so much new information that I can apply to my everyday life, and met so many amazing people."

The enthusiastic post was followed by one of him onboard his doomed American airlines flight shortly before take-off.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US Army helicopter involved in the overnight collision involved a "fairly experienced crew."

Hegseth said the crew had been operating with night vision goggles on a training flight, as the Pentagon ordered a 48-hour pause in flying for the unit involved.

It remains unclear what caused the crash. 

In a video statement, Hegseth said that the crew of three was on an annual proficiency training flight.

"We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the corridor and at the right altitude at the time of the incident," Hegseth said.

The helicopter came from the 12th Aviation Battalion, based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, with the unit to be grounded for 48 hours, Hegseth said. 

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration are set to join a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation of the midair collision. The NTSB is leading the investigation.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the investigation would seek to provide all answers for bereaved relatives and air passengers in general.

"I would just say that everyone who flies in American skies expects that we fly safely," Duffy said. "That when you depart an airport, you get to your destination."

"That didn't happen last night and I know that President Trump, his administration, the FAA, the DOT [Department of Transport], we will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public. You should be assured that when you fly, you're safe."

US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy says the wreckage of the jet involved in the collision had broken and been found in three pieces.

"The fuselage of the American Airlines plane was inverted," said Duffy. "It's been located in three different sections. It’s in about waist-deep water, so that recovery is going to go on today."

Duffy added that both the American Airlines jet and the military helicopter had been on a "standard flight pattern." 

"If you live in the DC area, you will see helicopters up and down the river," he said during a morning news conference.

"The American Airline flight coming in to land was in a standard flight pattern as it was coming into DCA, so this was not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at DCA," Duffy, who was sworn in earlier this week, said.

"We have early indicators of what happened here and I will tell you with complete confidence we have the safest airspace in the world," Duffy added.

Washington, DC Fire Chief John Donnelly says he believes there were no survivors in the collision between the plane and the helicopter.   

Donnelly said the bodies of 27 people from the plane had been recovered and one from the helicopter. 

"At this point we don't believe there are any survivors," Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly told a news conference at the capital's Reagan National Airport.

"We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation."

The plane was carrying 64 people, while there were three soldiers aboard the Blackhawk helicopter.

Figure skating groups have reacted to news that passengers on the jet included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members. They had been returning from a development camp that took place after the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. 

The organization US Figure Skating confirmed that "several members of the skating community" were on the flight, without providing more details.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts," the organization said. "We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available."

The sport's international governing body said the global skating community was "deeply shocked" and heartbroken.

"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 has confirmed that Russian citizens were on board a plane that crashed in Washington after "sad reports" that a champion skater couple were among them.

"We unfortunately see that these sad reports are being confirmed. Our other fellow citizens were there," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He expressed his "condolences to the families and friends" of the Russians on board.

Russian figure skaters and coaches Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are believed to have been aboard the American Airlines plane, possibly along with their son, Maxim.

US media outlets have reported that bodies have been recovered from the water after the collision of a passenger jet and military helicopter.

CBS News quoted a police official as saying "at least 18 bodies were recovered." Broadcaster NBC said "more than a dozen" had been found, citing two sources.

The midair crash happened over the partially frozen Potomac River near the airport.

 

Air traffic control audio has recorded the final moments before and after the crash.

A recording from LiveATC.net, a respected source for in-flight sound capture, captured the final communications between three crew members of the Blackhawk helicopter — call sign PAT25 — before the collision with the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet. 

"PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ," an air traffic controller said at 8.47 p.m. local time on Wednesday (01:47 GMT/UTC on Thursday).

Another aircraft called in to air traffic control seconds later, saying, "Tower, did you see that?" — apparently referring to the collision.

"Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three," one of the air traffic controllers can be heard saying. 

"I don't know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into [runway] 33. We're going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future," another controller remarked.

"Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river," a third air traffic controller is heard saying.

"I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his sympathies to the family members of those involved in the collision, in a post on social media platform X. 

"We can see how the first responders show exceptional dedication during the search-and-rescue operation. Our words of support go out to President Trump and the American people during this tragic time," he said. 

Russian figure skaters and coaches Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed near Reagan Washington National Airport, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported, citing a source.

Shishkova and Naumov, a married couple, won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994. The couple is said to have been returning from a competition and traveling with a group of young skaters — as many as 13, according to Russia's Mash news outlet. 

The coaches' son Maxim, who competed for the United States in singles, was also feared to have been on board the plane, Russia's TASS and RIA news agencies reported. 

There are currently 300 first responders conducting the search and rescue operation in the region, from several law and fire agencies, DC Fire and EMS department chief John Donnelly said at the press conference.

High winds, low night-time visibility, cold weather and murky water were combining to make "a very tough condition to dive in," he said.

Washington DC's Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed her sympathies with the families of those involved in the "tragic" aircraft collision in a press conference. 

"We are extremely sorry for the families experiencing loss," she said, adding that there were 64 people on board the American Airlines passenger jet and three people on the military helicopter. 

Bowser was joined by US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, US Senator Jim Moran, Senator Roger Marshall and Jack Potter, chief of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. 

She said the agencies were working "very diligently" in the "dark" and "difficult" conditions to execute the operation. Both the passenger jet and the helicopter are in the Potomac River, she clarified. 

In a post on social media platform Truth Social, US President Donald Trump seemed to blame the military helicopter for the accident which involves nearly 70 people on two aircrafts. 

"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane," Trump wrote.

"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"

In another post, minutes later, he wrote: "What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!"

Kristi Noem, the new secretary of homeland security in the Donald Trump administration, said that she was deploying "every available US Coast Guard resource for search and rescue efforts."