Renowned Russian figure skating couple were on board the US plane that crashed

Russian ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River in Washington on Wednesday night, Russian state media reported.

Shishkova and Naumov, who were married, won the world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994 and lived in the United States, where they trained young ice skaters.

Their son Maxim was also feared to have been on board the plane, Russia's TASS and RIA news agencies reported. He had been competing at the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas from Jan. 20-26, according to the event's website.


The couple were reported to have been returning from the competition and travelling with a group of young skaters.

An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac after a midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said.