Teen figure skaters from Boston, their moms and two Russian-born former world champions are among the dozens of passengers feared dead after an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter over Washington, DC, Wednesday night.
The identities of the 60 passengers and four crew members on board began to emerge Thursday as authorities revealed there were no survivors of the fiery tragedy that was shaping up to be the deadliest commercial crash in the US in more than two decades.
Those who boarded the flight, which went down over the frigid Potomac River late Wednesday, included at least 14 members of the US Figure Skating team, officials said.
Here’s what we know about the victims so far:
Spencer Lane and mom Christine Lane
Spencer Lane, a rising star affiliated with the Skating Club of Boston, was among the skaters on board the downed flight, according to the club’s CEO, Doug Zeghibe.
“Spencer, in the best way possible, was a crazy kid,” Zeghibe said. “Highly talented, has not been skating that long, and has been rocketing to the top of the sport. Very fun, very cerebral.”
Spencer, who is believed to be about 16 years old, had shared a tragic last photo on social media of the plane’s right wing just moments before taking off Wednesday evening.
His mom, Christine, was also on the plane, according to the club.
Jinna Han and her mom Jin Han
Fellow teen skater, Jinna Han, was also on the plane, the Boston club confirmed.
Jinna is believed to be about 15 years old.
“Jinna, just a wonderful kid. A great athlete, great competitor. Loved by all,” Zeghibe said.
Her mother, Jin Han, was on board, too.
Zeghibe said both of the skaters’ mothers were “dedicated” and always “made sacrifices.”
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov
The teens’ Russian-born coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were among the passengers, the Boston club said.
Shishkova and Naumov, who were married to each other, won the pairs title at the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships in Japan and competed twice in the Olympics.
They later relocated to the US following the collapse of the Soviet Union and coached generations of young skaters in New England.
Follow the NYP’s coverage of the deadly DC plane collision
Both had qualified as sports instructors in St. Petersburg, Russia, and each had at least 20 years of coaching experience, according to their profiles on the Skating Club of Boston website.
They also coached at the International Skating Center of Connecticut.
Their son, Maxim Naumov, is also a competitive figure skater for the United States but was not on the plane. He returned to Virginia on Monday after skating at the national championships.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was among those to offer condolences in the wake of the crash.
“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed,” Peskov said.
“There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash.”
Inna Volyanskaya
Inna Volyanskaya, a fellow coach, was a former skater who competed for the pre-1991 Soviet Union, Russian state media said.
More recently, she was a coach at the Ashburn Ice House in Virginia, the club’s general manager Rob Lorenzen told NBC Washington.
“Inna also had a lot of success internationally achieving gold, silver, and bronze medals in various international competitions,” the club’s website says.
Sam Lilley
One of the American Airlines pilots on board the downed jet was identified by his family as Sam Lilley — a 28-year-old first officer who was engaged to be married.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” his father, Tim Lilley, said in a Facebook tribute.
“He was doing great in his career and his personal life. He was engaged to get married in the fall,” said Tim Lilley, a veteran Army helicopter pilot.
“It is so devastating to lose someone that is loved so much,” the elder Lilley added.
Ryan O’Hara
One of the soldiers performing a training flight on the ill-fated Black Hawk helicopter was Ryan O’Hara, a Georgia-bred father of a baby boy and graduate of Parkview High School near Atlanta, according to wsbtv.com.
“Ryan is fondly remembered as a guy who would fix things around the (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) gym as well as a vital member of the Rifle Team. Ryan leaves behind a wife and 1-year-old son,” the Parkview High School JROTC wrote in a statement.
O’Hara, who was crew chief on the helicopter, graduated from the high school in 2014 before going on to become an Army reserve officer.
Ian Epstein
Ian Epstein was one of two flight attendants on board the plane, his relatives said.
Epstein worked for PSA Airlines – a subsidiary of American Airlines, according to his Facebook page.
“It is with a very heavy heart and extreme sadness that myself along with our children … inform you that Ian Epstein was one of the flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 5342 that collided last night when they were landing in DC,” one of his relatives, Debi Epstein, wrote in a social media tribute.
“Please pray for Ian and our family as we travel to DC.”
Michael Stovall and Jesse Pitcher
Stovall, of Maryland, was returning home from a duck hunting trip with a group of friends in Kansas when the plane plunged into the Potomac River.
The 40-year-old father was a steamfitter and Baltimore Orioles fan who loved skiing and other forms of outdoor adventure, according to The New York Times.
Photos he posted on Facebook show he left behind a wife and son.
A co-worker of Stovall’s, Jesse Pitcher, 30, joined him for the hunting trip and was also on the flight.
“He was just getting started with life,” his father, Jameson Pitcher, told the paper.
Asra Hussain
Asra Hussain, a 26-year-old Indiana University graduate, sent her husband a final haunting text just moments before the fatal crash.
“We are landing in 20 minutes,” she wrote to Hamaad Raza, according to WUSA.
Wendy Shaffer
Shaffer was the mother of two young children who was described as “always smiling” by her friend and FOX News correspondent Bill Melugin.
“It is with great regret that I can confirm a friend of mine, Wendy Shaffer, lost her life in the AA plane crash last night. Wendy was an amazing mom of two children, ages 3 and 1,” Melugin tweeted.
Her husband, Nate, added that she “was not just beautiful on the outside, but was a truly amazing woman through and through.”
The Livingston family
Donna Livingston and her husband, Peter, along with their two daughters, Everly, 11, and Alydia, 14, were named as victims of the horrific collision.
The girls were part of the Washington Figure Skating Club. In a final Instagram post, the sisters posed in front of the ice at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
Donna grew up in central Pennsylvania and attended the Westmont Hilltop School District before moving to Virginia, where she met Peter, who is from Richmond, relatives told wjactv.com.
The couple and their girls recently lived in Ashburn, Virginia.
Kiah Duggins
Kiah Duggins, a former Miss Kansas contestant and attorney, was named as a victim in the crash.
She was flying into DC as she was “preparing to be a law professor at Howard University in the fall,” her former pageant director, Larry Strong, said in a post to Facebook.
“It is with heavy heart that the Miss Augusta and Miss Butler County organization just learned that Kiah Duggins Miss Butler County 2014 (and) 2015 was a passenger in the plane that crashed last evening in Washington DC,” he wrote. “Keep the rest of the family in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.”
“Kiah was top 10 finalist in 2014 and 2015 at the Miss Kansas Pageant.”
Angela Yang, Sean Kay and their teacher Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov
A young ice skating duo and their coach were among the victims aboard the doomed American Airlines plane that collided with a Black Hawk chopper, according to a report.
Youngsters Angela Yang and Sean Kay and their teacher Alexandr “Sasha” Kirsanov were all killed as the plane attempted to land at Reagan National Airport in DC, the coach’s wife told the News Journal.
“We always use American Airlines when we go to competition,” Natalia Gudin told the newspaper. “This time they go without me, and all of them are gone.”
More than a dozen figure skaters were on the flight traveling back from a competition in Wichita, Kansas.
Grace Maxwell
A 20-year-old college student from Wichita, Kan., was among the victims aboard the 64-person American Airlines plane that collided with a Black Hawk chopper in DC Wednesday night, her father confirmed.
Grace Maxwell was home attending her grandfather’s funeral before she boarded the doomed flight that went down in the Potomac River just minutes after it was cleared to land at Reagan National Airport around 9 p.m., Dean Maxwell told The Eagle.
Maxwell, who has been in contact with American Airlines’ Care Team, said his daughter was headed back to Cedarville University in Ohio, where she was studying biomedical engineering.
Elizabeth Anne Keys and Sarah Lee Best
Elizabeth Anne Keys, 33 was traveling on the deadly American Airlines flight that collided midair with a Black Hawk chopper late Wednesday night died on her birthday, her longtime partner and family confirmed.
The Ohio woman was returning to Washington, DC from a work trip when the explosive collision split the plane carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members in half and plunged into the Potomac River around 9 p.m., The Enquirer reported.
“She was just the best partner and so special, had such a sharp wit, and just really pushed everyone around her to be the best version of themselves,” said David Seidman, her partner of six years, The Enquirer reported.
The Cincinnati native worked as an attorney in DC.
Keys’ co-worker Sarah Lee Best had joined the firm in November and served as a judicial law clerk for several federal courts including with Judge John P. Cronan at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to her profile.
Andrew Eaves
Eaves became the second soldier killed in the midair collision between a commercial flight and Black Hawk chopper in Washington, DC Wednesday night to be identified Thursday evening.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves posted online about the loss of military official Andrew Eaves, who hailed from a small town in the Magnolia State.
“Mississippi is mourning the loss of Brooksville native Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, who was killed in last night’s accident at Reagan National Airport,” Gov. Tate Reeves wrote on X Thursday.
“Elee and I are praying for the victims’ families and first responders who are assisting.”
Eaves’ wife, Carrie, mourned her husband in a Facebook Post.
“I am sure by now all of you have heard the news of the tragedy that has occurred in DC. My husband was one of the pilots in the Blackhawk,” she wrote, according to outlets.
“We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve.”
Jonathan Campos
Jonathan Campos was also identified as one of the pilots flying the American Airlines plane that reportedly split in two before falling into the Potomac River.
His aunt told the New York Times her nephew, who worked for PSA Airlines for eight years, had wanted to be in the air since he was 3 years old. The 34-year-old was raised in Brooklyn and now lived in Florida.
“I think he wanted to be free, and be able to fly and soar like a bird,” relative Beverly Lane said.
Campos received his pilot certificates at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2011, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
He then received his instructor certification at Epic Flight Academy.
“He was a skilled and dedicated pilot with an undeniable passion for flying,” the Florida-based company said in a Facebook post.
All 67 people on the plane and the military helicopter are believed to be dead, authorities said.
Casey Crafton
Casey Crafton, a Connecticut father of three who coached youth soccer was identified as one of the American Airlines passengers who died when the plane split in two after colliding with a Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, DC, Wednesday night.
“Casey Crafton—husband of Rachel and father to their three sons—was among the passengers on the American Airlines flight from Kansas that went down in the Potomac River,” Connecticut state Sen. Martha Marx said on a Facebook Thursday.
Gov. Ned Lamont also expressed his sorrow.
“My heart goes out to the Crafton-Gadbois family after the tragic loss of Casey Crafton in yesterday’s plane crash,” he wrote on X.
“Salem has lost a dedicated father, husband, and community member. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.”
Crafton was a coach for the Montville Youth Soccer Club and part of the Salem Little League community, the latter said on Facebook.
Montville Youth Soccer Club called Crafton a valued volunteer “who helped to enrich the lives of all those that he came in contact with.”
Danasia Elder
Danasia Elder was part of the crew on the commercial flight operated by PSA Airlines that collided with the Black Hawk chopper, her brother-in-law told WSOC.
“She was a great wife, a great parent, a great friend,” loved one Brandon Payne said. “She was very bright, very smart. She was an entrepreneur. This flight attendant thing was kind of like one of her dreams she wanted to do.”
“She’ll would want y’all do the same thing she did. Chase your dreams, no matter what. Don’t let nothing scare you, push you away. Just believe in yourself, believe in God, and follow the path,” he added.
Elder is the second identified flight attendant on the doomed American Airlines flight that suffered a midair crash Wednesday night.
She reportedly leaves behind a husband and two kids.
Other members of the flight crew included fellow flight attendant Ian Epstein and pilots Jonathan Campos and Sam Lilley.
“She loved her family tremendously and she would just light up whenever she spoke about them,” a former PSA training classmate of Elder told WCNC.
Pergentino Malabed, Jr
Philippine police Colonel Pergentino Malabed, Jr. has been identified as one of the victims of the deadly in-air collision in Washington, DC, according to ABS-CBN News.
Malabed, Jr served as the Philippine national police chief of the supply management division.
Vikesh Patel
A longtime GE Aerospace employee tasked with traveling around the country was one of the passengers on the doomed American Airlines flight, according to WXIX.
Vikesh Patel, a Maintenance, Repair and Operations Transformation Leader, had been with the company for over a decade, having been named to his latest role in April 2024.
“This is a tragedy not only for our industry but also for the GE Aerospace team as one of our cherished colleagues was onboard the flight,” CEO Larry Culp said. “Our hearts are with his family and all those impacted by this horrific accident.”
Patel joined the company in 2013, transferring to several cities as he climbed the ranks, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Bob and Lori Schrock
Bob and Lori Schrock died in the horrific collision as they were traveling to visit their daughter in college at Villanova University in Philadelphia.
The married farmers had planned on flying into Reagan Airport before taking the train to meet up with their daughter Ellie, according to KSN.
Ellie is a junior at Villanova. The couple lived in the small town of Kiowa – located in southern Kansas near the Oklahoma border.
Loved ones remembered them for their generosity and faith in Christ.
Four figure skaters and their parents
Brielle Magdalena Beyer and her mother Justyna Magdalena Beyer, 42, lived in Aldie, Virginia with Brielle’s father Andy and her six-year-old brother Kallen.
The younger Beyer had celebrated her 12th birthday two weeks before the deadly collision, according to NBC Connecticut.
Edward Zhou, 16, and his parents Kaiyan and Joe from Fairfax, Va. were among those onboard the doomed flight Wednesday night.
Zhou was remembered for his fearlessness in trying new skills and was loved by coaches because he “always smiled and laughed every time he fell,” the skating podcast “The Skating Lesson” said.
Franco Aparicio was with his father Luciano as the two traveled to the elite camp for the second year in a row.
Aparicio was remembered as a “very quiet, hardworking skater whose face would light up with the warmest smile.”
Cory Haynos, who had stuck around Wichita for a special training session with the top 40 athletes, surprised those in attendance when he landed a triple-axle in front of the coaches and scouts at the National Development Camp, the New York Times reported.
Haynos, 16, soon departed Kansas with his mom Stephanie and dad Roger as the three flew back to their Fairfax home.
Flight crew, other skaters and soldiers
Separately, US Figure Skating confirmed that several skaters, coaches, and their family members were on the commercial flight after attending a development camp and championship meet in Wichita, Kansas.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” the sporting body said in a statement, without releasing any names.
American Airlines said it was mourning the loss of four crew members, while US officials confirmed three soldiers were aboard the downed helicopter. None of their names have been released publicly yet.
It comes as first responders continued to search for bodies Thursday after pulling at least 28 victims from the icy river in the wake of the wreck.
“We don’t believe there are any survivors,” John Donnelly, DC’s fire chief, said. “We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.”
With Post wires
