On Wednesday night, the unthinkable happened when a passenger plane with 60 passengers and four crewmembers aboard crashed into an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport and fell into the frigid Potomac River.
American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, attempted to land and collided in midair just before 9 p.m. with the Blackhawk helicopter, which was carrying three people. Officials announced Thursday morning that they believe there were no survivors and 28 bodies have been found so far in the massive search effort, complicated by the river’s near-freezing water and low visibility.
Among the people on board the plane were a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, according to a statement from U.S. Figure Skating, the sport’s American governing body. Some skaters competing at the event had Florida ties.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement. A group of Russian figure skaters and other Russian nationals were also on board and Russia’s state news agency TASS reported that renowned Russian figure skaters Evgenia and Vadim Naumov, 1994 world pairs champions, were traveling as coaches.
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the most prestigious event for American figure skating and the final event before the World Championships, were held in Wichita from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26, awarding national championships in four categories — Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Pairs and Ice Dance — in junior and senior levels. According to U.S. Figure Skating, nearly 150 up-and-coming athletes stayed after the event for the National Development Team, an advanced training program for young skaters held Monday and Tuesday.
These are the current U.S. skaters with Florida ties.
Timmy Chapman, 24, of Orlando
Partnered with Ellie Korytek of Los Angeles, California. They began their partnership in March 2022. They were the U.S. junior champions in 2023 and 1st in the 2025 U.S. Pairs Final.
Korylek and Chapman competed in the Senior Pairs competition of the 2025 U.S. Championships in Wichita, and came in 7th, earning a score of 57.54.
It is not yet known if either skater was on the flight.
Valentina Plazas, 24, of Pembroke Pines and Maximiliano Fernandez, 29, of Miami
Teamed up in May 2020, Plazas (born in Bogota, Colombia) and Fernandez (born in Hialeah, Florida) were the first U.S. pairs team with both partners of Latin descent to compete in the World Championships. They were 14th in that, 3rd in the 2024 U.S. Championships, 2nd in the 2023 Golden Spin of Zagreb and 5th in the 2023 U.S. Championships, among others.
Plazas and Fernandez did not compete in the 2025 U.S. Championships in Wichita. Both skaters have posted messages on social media about the flight.
“My heart breaks for the skating community right now,” Plazas posted on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday morning. “The moment i heard i only imagined all the athletes and families coming back from the camp. This is a shock to the system”
Fernandez can also be marked safe. He posted “Prayers to all those on Flight 5342” last night, and “Just devastating. Praying for everyone who was on board” Thursday morning.
Annabelle Morozov and Jeffrey Chen trained in Estero
Morozov, 23, and Chen, 22, are from New York City and Fremont, California, respectively, but they trained in Estero.
They began their partnership in May 2024 and were 1st in the 2025 U.S. Ice Dance Final and 2nd in the 2024 Lombardia Trophy.
Morozov and Chen competed in the Senior Ice Dance competition of the 2025 U.S. Championships in Wichita, and came in 10th.
Has there ever been a similar tragedy in the figure skating community?
On Feb. 15, 1961, a plane carrying the U.S. national team U.S. national team to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia crashed en route from New York City, USA to Brussels, Belgium. 72 people were killed.
The U.S. Figure Skating Memorial Fund was established to offer skating and academic scholarships to promising members of the national figure skating community in tribute to the lives lost in the crash.
(This story was updated with new information.)
