Died of a Russian Figure Skater in Washington, D.C.: A Twitter Story About the Boston Skating Club and Kremlin
On his Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, Lane posted a photo taken from his seat on the airplane, looking out the window as it appeared to taxi toward takeoff.
Two of the coaches on the flight were Russian figure skaters. The Boston Skating Club and the Kremlin have died.
“The sad news is true,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who added that an unspecified number of other Russian citizens were aboard the flight. “It’s bad news out of Washington.”
They moved to the U.S. in 1998 and appear to have stayed involved in the sport: They are both listed as coaches on the website of the Skating Club of Boston.
“Both of his parents were with him while he was competing. His mom was too scared to watch him skate. “His dad was in the ‘kiss-and-cry’ sharing his great performance.”
Elite figure skaters — some of them youth athletes — returning home from a competition and training camp were among the passengers of the plane that crashed after colliding with a military helicopter near Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.
The Loss of a Legendary Figure Skater from the 2025 Prevagen Championships: The Boston Skating Club is a Family-Like Community
“When you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well,” he said. “I think our current members, leaders, management team are — I don’t know what the word is — is it wrecked? Is it sad? People are shocked by this.
Several American figure skaters have offered their prayers and condolences in the wake of the tragedy, including defending world champion Ilia Malinin, who won his third consecutive national title in Wichita on Sunday.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. U.S. Figure Skating said they would release more information when the situation became available.
Spencer Lane and Jinna Han, teenagers from Boston who are returning home with their mothers, attended the events along with some of the other people on Wednesday’s flight.
The 2025 Prevagen Figure Skating Championships — a final qualifier for the U.S. World and Junior Championship teams — ran from Jan. 20 through Jan. 26 in Wichita. The National Development Camp is a three-day educational program for the top-performing youth athletes that aims to accelerate their exposure to High Performance Programs and Team USA.
“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community. Kids and their parents are here at our facility for six to seven days a week. It is a close, tight bond. And I think for all of us, we have lost family,” said Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, who held a news conference early Thursday.
The Midair Collision of a U.S. Figure Skating Plane with a Black Hawk and an American Airlines Jet in the Nearby Washington, D.C.
The PSA Airlines plane was attempting to land at Reagan at 9pm on Wednesday when it was involved in a midair collision. The plane was traveling from Wichita, Kan. It carried 60 passengers and four crew members (two pilots and two flight attendants).
“Last night I expressed the fact that we hope to open at 11 today, and that is still the case,” Potter said, speaking at a Thursday morning news conference at the airport. “It’s safe. The FAA is one of the agencies we have worked with. And, you know, it’s been determined that we can open that airport safely.”
Authorities believe there will likely be no survivors in the midair crash involving an American Airlines regional jet and a Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night in the skies above the nation’s capital.
The dead have been recovered so far. There were 76 people in the plane and 3 on the Black Hawk. The passengers on the jet were members of the U.S. Figureskating team, according to Russian state media.
The Pentagon says that the soldiers were carried from Fort Belvoir in Virginia by the Black Hawks. The Defense Secretary said that the crew members were new to the training exercise.
The jet was flying from south to north and lining up to land at the airport when it collided with the Black Hawk, which was flying from north to south, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a press conference. The two aircraft collided at a low altitude.
According to audio archived by LiveATC.net, the plane had initially been cleared to land on runway 1. But an air traffic controller asked the flight crew if they could use runway 33 instead.
This is not an unusual request at this airport which is incredibly busy and requires a delicate dance to handle the mix of arriving and departing aircraft in very complicated airspace around the D.C. area. There are scores of military and law enforcement helicopters always operating in the vicinity.
Source: What we know about the midair crash near Washington, D.C.
What we know about the midair crash near Washington, D.C.: The 12th Aviation Battalion was able to perform proficiency training on an American Airlines jet
John Donnelly, the chief of Washington D.C.’s Fire and EMS, said the first alert came in at 8:48pm and they arrived ten minutes later. He said there are hundreds of people from surrounding counties and cities coming to assist in the aftermath. It’s a “highly complex operation” with “extremely rough” conditions as temperatures hovered around 36 degrees overnight, according to NOAA’s National Ocean Service, with added wind.
It’s hard to work in and it is dangerous. And because there’s not a lot of lights, you’re out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody. Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water has a dark hue. It is murky. And that is a very tough condition for them to dive in,” he said.”
The names and ranks of the three Black Hawk crew members will be withheld for now as next of kin notifications are ongoing, Defense Secretary Hegseth said.
The unit involved in the crash were from the 12th Aviation Battalion and were flying out of Fort Belvoir. The crew were taking part in their annual proficiency training flight and were undergoing night evaluation. They were also fitted with night vision goggles, he said.
The US Figure Skating confirmed in a statement that athletes, coaches and family members were on the American Airlines jet that was returning from the National Development Camp.
The victims of the crash were a husband and wife from Russia that won the world championship.
Source: What we know about the midair crash near Washington, D.C.
The problem with the planes colliding with the ejector at Reagan National airport was solved at 11 a.m. EST
Reagan National Airport was placed on ground stop after the crash for several hours. But Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO John Potter said operations at the airport will resume at 11 a.m. EST Thursday.