An Army Black Hawk collided with an American Airlines flight
Six people from the Skating Club of Boston were killed when a passenger airliner collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Reagan International Airport, CEO Doug Zeghibe said Thursday.
Two athletes, Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, two coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, and Jin Han, the mother of Jinna, and Molly Lane, the mother of Spencer, were identified as the victims with ties to the skate club.
"Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy," Zeghibe said in a statement posted to social media. "Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 of 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.
"These athletes, coaches, parents were returning from 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 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."
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, confirmed earlier Thursday that Naumov and Shishkova were among those on board the plane.
This is a breaking news update. Check back for details.
Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.