DC plane crash is believed to have 'no survivors': What to know about the passengers
Officials believe no one survived the crash involving an American Airlines passenger plane with an Army helicopter.
On Wednesday, just before 9 p.m. ET, American Airlines Flight 5342 was involved in a mid-air collision near the Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington D.C., American Airlines said in a statement. On board the plane was 60 passengers and four crew members.
The helicopter, a Black Hawk helicopter, carried three passengers, according to Paste BN's previous reporting. The crash occurred above the Potomac River.
The plane was traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., when the crash occurred, according to American Airlines.
Who was on board?
Information regarding the plane's passengers is still being released, but multiple figure skaters, their families, friends, and coaches are confirmed to have been onboard the American Airlines flight, according to a statement from the International Skating Union.
"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts," U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.
Russian figure skaters, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, and other Russian nationals were also onboard the plane, according to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"We see, unfortunately, that this sad information is confirmed," Peskov said, according to Russian state media, which published his comments. "Our other compatriots were also there. Bad news from Washington today."
In 1994, Shishkova and Naumov won the world championships in pairs figure skating.
‘We have lost family’: Skating Club of Boston speaks on 6 club members killed
Doug Zeghibe bravely tried to keep his emotions intact.
The CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston showed both pride and heartache when he told reporters Thursday that six club members were on the American Airlines flight that crashed into the Potomac Wednesday night.
The club had sent multiple skaters to the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the 2025 U.S. High Performance Development Camp in Wichita, according to an Instagram post.
The six were returning from a skating camp that took place after the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas. They were scheduled to board a connecting flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Boston. They were among 14 club members who attended the competition.
He described the victims, skater Spencer Lane, 16, and his mother Christine Lane. Skater Jinna Han, 15, and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov as key parts of their close-knit community.
“These kids and their parents - they are here at our skating facility in Norwood six, sometimes seven days, a week,” Zeghibe said. “It is a close, tight bond, and I think for all of us, we have lost family.”
He briefly described Spencer as a “highly-talented kid,” a promising skater who was “rocketing to the top of the sport. Zeghibe gave similar praise to Jinna, “a wonderful kid, great athlete, great competitor” loved by all. The club executive said their mothers were “role-model parents,” devoted, dedicated to their children’s passion for the sport.
He praised coaches Shishkova and Naumov for bringing prominence to the club. The couple won the pairs title at the 1994 World Championships and competed in two Winter Olympics. Their son, Maxim Naumov, a competitive skater for the U.S. was not on the plane. Maxim, who is on his way to D.C. with other club members, flew back home with Zeghibe on Sunday after finishing fourth in his skating competition which ended Sunday.
Their deaths will have “long-reaching impacts for our skating community,” Zeghibe said. “They came to us in 2017 and were very much a part of our building the competitive skating program here at the skating club.”
Alexandr Kirsanov, Angela Yang and Sean Kay
A skating coach died along with two of his team members, the coach’s wife confirmed to the Paste BN Network.
Alexandr Kirsanov, 46, who coached Angela Yang and Sean Kay, was among those killed in the crash, his wife, Natalia Gudin told Delaware Online/The News Journal in a phone call from Washington, D.C., where she was staying as recovery efforts continued.
Kirsanov’s body had not been recovered as of Thursday afternoon, Gudin said, but Yang and Kay were found.
“We always use American Airlines when we go to competition,” she said, crying. “This time, they go without me, and all of them are gone.”
On Jan. 21, the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club posted on its social media accounts that it was sending skaters to Wichita. “Congratulations to everyone and we wish you all the best!” the post read, with Yang, Kay and two other skaters pictured, medals around their necks.
In a November post, the club offered a glimpse of Yang in a Skater Spotlight post. She said she got into skating because of older siblings who played hockey. She, too, started playing, but “I soon discovered a passion for ice dance.” As her hockey skills were eclipsed by her dancing, she decided to focus on the latter.
She talked about how her family and her coaches were her inspiration, and, asked what she did in her time off the ice, she said she created digital art, painted and enjoyed traveling and playing video games.
Yang also said she had two chinchillas, Star and Space, a guinea pig named Reese’s and a parakeet named Cloudy.
Samuel Lilley
Samuel Lilley, 29, was the first officer on the flight, according to a Facebook post made by his father Tim Lilley. The same post stated that the younger Lilley was engaged and to be married in the fall.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” the post read. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep.”
Paste BN has reached out to Lilley’s father, Tim, who said he wasn't immediately available to speak about his son. But he told the Daily Mail that his son was near becoming a captain.
Lilley graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. President Kyle Marrero, in a statement to Paste BN, said the university community “is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our outstanding alumni, Sam Lilley (‘18), who embodied the eagle spirit and soared beyond in his career.”
“We will continue to keep Sam’s family and friends in our thoughts as they grieve this tragedy,” Marrero said.
United Association announces loss of a fifth union member in plane crash
The United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 602 confirmed Thursday afternoon that another one of its members was on the plane that crashed Wednesday evening.
UA general president Mark McManus and UA Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 5 business manager Terriea “T” Smalls issued a joint statement saying:
“We are heartbroken to share that we have learned another one of our Brothers was among the victims of the American Airlines Flight 5342 crash yesterday," the statement read. "May they all rest in peace.”
Earlier Thursday, UA announced that four members from UA Steamfitters Local 602 were on the plane.
The organization said it is providing support to the families of the victims and will release more information as it becomes available.
Why were multiple figure skaters onboard the flight?
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships were being held in Wichita, where the plane took off from, from Jan. 21 to Jan. 26.
No survivors, dozens of bodies recovered
Authorities raced to find survivors in the aftermath of the crash, according to the D.C. Police Department. Multiple agencies are involved in the search-and-rescue operation on Wednesday night.
Officials believe none of those on board the aircraft involved survived the crash, Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said at a press release Thursday morning. Search-and-rescue efforts have now switched over to recovery.
Officials recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter, according to Donnelly.
Anyone who believes their loved one was on board Flight 5342 can call American Airlines toll-free at 800-679-8215, the airline said in a statement. Anyone outside of the U.S. can visit news.aa.com for additional phone numbers.
This story has been updated with new information.
Contributing: Paste BN's John Bacon, Christopher Cann, Kinsey Crowley, Phaedra Trethan and Chris Quintana, Paste BN; Isabel Hughes, Delaware News Journal
Julia is a trending reporter for Paste BN. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com