At least 14 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team were on board the American Airlines flight that collided with a military helicopter just outside of Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. All are presumed dead.
Doug Zeghibe, CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, told WCVB-TV that six members of his organization had boarded the doomed American Airlines flight. He confirmed that eight more members of the U.S. team were also on board.
“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community. These kids and their parents — they are here at our skating facility in Norwood six, sometimes seven days a week. It is a close, tight bond, and I think for all of us, we have lost family,” Zeghibe told the Boston TV station.
Skater Spencer Lane, his mother, Molly, skater Jinna Han and her mother, Jin, and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also aboard, according to the New York Post.
The American Airlines plane with 60 passengers and four crew members onboard was struck by an Army helicopter which was on a training flight at 9 p.m. Wednesday. It appears that all in both airships perished in the ensuing explosion.
The weather was clear, and visibility was reported at ten miles, so it is unclear why or how the helicopter did not see the jet approaching to land at Reagan National Airport.
No survivors have yet been found.
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