Two young figure skaters, along with their mothers and coaches, are among those killed in the deadly plane crash that occurred when an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter while on approach near Washington, D.C., Wednesday night.
The Skating Club of Boston said Spencer Lane and Jinna Han, along with their mothers, Christine Lane and Jin Han, and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were on board the flight.
Both skaters had been attending a national development camp in Wichita, Kansas, which had followed the U.S. Figure Skating national championship this past weekend.
A total of 60 passengers and four crew members were on board the American Airlines flight and three soldiers aboard a training flight on a Black Hawk helicopter are presumed dead, officials told reporters Thursday morning.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said “there are no survivors.”
Lane was champion at the 2025 intermediate eastern sectionals champion and had become popular on social media in the skating community, with thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok.
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“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,” Lane wrote in a post Wednesday afternoon.
“I learned so much new information that I can apply to my everyday life, and met so many amazing people.”
Shortly before takeoff, Lane posted a story on his Instagram which showed the wing of a plane with the words indicating the airport codes for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) and Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA), alluding to the flight path.
A screenshot of an Instagram story by Spencer Lane, who was confirmed as a victim of the American Airlines plane crash on Jan. 29, 2025. Lane posted this photo of a plane wing, indicating his flight from Wichita, Kan. to Washington, D.C. before takeoff.
Instagram/@spencerskates26 – Spencer Lane
Han was described as an Olympic hopeful in 2022 American media coverage of her skating career.
She placed second in the Novice Women’s Short Program two months ago at the 2025 Eastern Sectional Singles Final while representing the Skating Club of Boston.
During a press conference on Thursday morning, Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the skating club, spoke about the “pretty horrific tragedy.”
“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community,” he said.
“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 noted it’s not the first loss for the Boston club, referencing the 1961 plane crash that killed the entire U.S. delegation on its way to the world championships in Prague. He told reporters almost half of those on the plane were part of the club.
He said that crash also had “long-reaching implications” for the club and sport.
“When you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well,” he said. “I personally feel that this club, the Skating Club of Boston, is just now 60 years later been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash.”
Shishkova and Naurov moved to the U.S. after winning the 1994 pairs world championship and became coaches, first at the International Skating Center in Connecticut and have been at the Boston club since 2017, which has been a training ground for world-class skaters since 1912.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that Shishkova and Naumov were on the flight, along with several skaters, coaches and family members.
“We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends and coaches, are understood to be among those on board,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.
—with files from The Associated Press and Global News’ Katie Scott
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