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World Class Competitive Figure Skaters Are Among Plane Crash Victims

Six members of The Skating Club of Boston, including two young figure skaters, tragically lost their lives in the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 on Wednesday, January 29.

In a statement shared on Instagram on Thursday, January 30, the club’s CEO and executive director, Doug Zeghibe, confirmed that 16-year-old skaters Spencer Lane and Jinna Han were among the victims, along with their mothers, Christine Lane and Jin Han.

Also among the victims were Skating Club of Boston coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, a married couple, originally from Russia. Also, the pair won the world championships in 1994 pairs figure skating.

“Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” the statement read. “Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 to 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.”

The statement added, “These athletes, coaches and parents were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp, following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the most promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The Club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp.”

The flight reportedly carried 60 passengers and four crew members when it crashed into the Potomac River after a mid-air collision with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Authorities do not believe there are any survivors.

The identities of the remaining passengers have not yet been disclosed.

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