​Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed at the Winter Olympics twice, were aboard the plane, officials said.  Read More  Breaking News

JEN, IT’S REALLY A TIGHT KNIT COMMUNITY. THERE. ANTOINETTE IT CERTAINLY IS. THIS IS THE RINK WHERE TWO TEENAGE ATHLETES PRACTICED AND TWO VERY WELL KNOWN COACHES TAUGHT THEIR STUDENTS. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SKATING CLUB OF BOSTON SAYS THEY WERE ON BOARD THE FLIGHT TO D.C. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO CATCH A SECOND FLIGHT TO BOSTON LAST NIGHT. THIS CLUB IS STUNNED AND HEARTBROKEN, BUT THE COACHES LAST NIGHT AND INTO THIS MORNING, WE WERE INFORMED OF A PRETTY HORRIFIC TRAGEDY ON BOARD THE PLANE THAT CRASHED IN D.C. TWO RENOWNED COACHES FROM THE SKATING CLUB OF BOSTON, TWO YOUNG FIGURE SKATERS FROM THE CLUB AND THEIR MOTHERS. THESE KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS, THEY’RE HERE AT OUR FACILITY IN NORWOOD SIX, SOMETIMES SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. IT’S A CLOSE, TIGHT BOND, AND I THINK FOR ALL OF US, WE HAVE LOST FAMILY, THE CLUB CEO SAYS 16 YEAR OLD SPENCER LANE, ALONG WITH 15 YEAR OLD GINA HAHN, WERE FLYING BACK FROM WICHITA AFTER A U.S. FIGURE SKATING TRAINING CAMP. SPENCER, IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE, WAS A CRAZY KID, HIGHLY TALENTED, LIKE INCREDIBLY TALENTED, HAS NOT BEEN SKATING THAT LONG AND JUST ROCKETING TO THE TOP OF THE SPORT. GINA, JUST A WONDERFUL KID, A WONDERFUL PARENTS, GREAT ATHLETE, GREAT COMPETITOR. LOVED BY ALL THEIR COACHES. A FORMER WORLD CHAMPION RUSSIAN PAIR. THIS WILL HAVE LONG REACHING IMPACTS FOR OUR SKATING COMMUNITY. THE TWO COACHES, JENNA SHISHKOVA AND VADIM NAUMOV, TOP COACHES. THEY WERE THE 1994 WORLD PAIR CHAMPIONSHIP WORLD PAIR CHAMPIONS. AND THEY CAME TO US IN 2017 AND WERE VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR BUILDING. THE COMPETITIVE SKATING PROGRAM HERE AT THE SKATING CLUB OF BOSTON. A PERSONAL LOSS FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THIS CLUB AND FOR THE SPORT. THEIR SON, MAXIM, COMPETED IN THE U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP IN WICHITA EARLIER THIS MONTH. OH, WHERE IS IT? THIS IS ACTUALLY NOT THE FIRST TIME SUCH A TRAGEDY HAS STRUCK THIS CLUB, TOO. IN 1961, THE ENTIRE U.S. WORLD FIGURE SKATING TEAM WAS KILLED IN A PLANE CRASH IN BELGIUM. SEVERAL MEMBERS BELONGED TO THIS VERY CLUB. NOW, A NOTE HERE. WE’RE JUST LEARNING NOW THAT GINA HAHN IS ONLY 13 YEARS OLD. WE JUST RECEIVED UPDATED AGES. WE ASKED THE CLUB IF THEY WILL CLOSE. THE CEO SAYS AT THIS POINT THEY HAVE NO PLANS TO. SKATERS ARE RESILIENT, HE SAYS, AND THEY WANT TO BE BACK OUT ON THE ICE. WE’RE LIV

Coaches, skaters who train at Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, on plane that crashed midair

Passengers on the jet that collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night included a group of figure skaters and their parents and coaches with ties to Massachusetts.Doug Zeghibe, CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, said two teenage figure skaters, their mothers and two renowned coaches were among 14 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team who were on the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. “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 said.The group was returning from the National Development Camp, which took place after the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas, and was scheduled to board connecting flights from Reagan to New England on Wednesday night. Skater Spencer Lane, 16, and his mother, Christine Lane, 49, skater Jinna Han, 13, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, and her mother, Jin Han, and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the plane. Spencer’s father called his son a “force of a nature,” who decided he wanted to try skating three years ago after seeing Nathan Chen in the Olympics.”His drive and tenacity… he trained at the Skating Club of Boston five days a week and attended high school online and just committed himself to it,” Douglas Lane said. He said his wife, Christine was “a creative powerhouse,” who would do anything for her children.Zeghibe said Spencer, who is from Barrington, Rhode Island, was a “highly-talented kid” who was “rocketing to the top of the sport,” and Jinna was a “wonderful kid, great athlete, great competitor” who was loved by all. Zeghibe said their mothers were “role-model parents” who were dedicated to their children’s sport. A journalist who has watched and covered Jinna Han said the teen was already showing advanced skills at a young age during an event in 2023. “Every movement was complete. She landed her jumps, she had excellent jumps, really good spins. After that performance in ’23, a lot of people really said, ‘This girl is on the up and up,'” said Kat Cornetta. Shishkova and Naumov, who lived in Norwood, won the pairs title at the 1994 World Championships and competed at the Winter Olympics twice. “(They) just had a really profound impact on the club,” said Adam Blake, a choreographer with the Skating Club of Boston. “Not only that, they were just really, really wonderful people.”Described as incredibly nice and generous, the couple also pushed their students to be the best.”With as much work they put in as athletes to become world champions, they put in just as much work to inspire young athletes of the future,” Blake said. Their son, Maxim Naumov, who was not on the plane, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.Video: ‘I’m not sure how to process it,’ tearful Nancy Kerrigan saysThe Federal Aviation Administration said the midair crash happened at 8:48 p.m. when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita collided with the military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway.During a morning news conference, officials said they have moved from a rescue operation to a recovery operation, as they believe no one survived the crash.It’s not the first time tragedy has struck the Skating Club. In 1961, a flight carrying 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team to compete in the world championships in Prague crashed as it was trying to land in Brussels. All 73 people aboard the plane died, including 16-year-old Laurence Owen, of Winchester, Massachusetts, known as “America’s Queen of the Ice.””Almost half of everyone aboard that plane were from (the Skating Club),” Zeghibe said. “It had long-reaching implications for the Skating Club and for the sport in this country, because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport, as well.”The Skating Club of Boston is hosting the World Championships at TD Garden in March.

Passengers on the jet that collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night included a group of figure skaters and their parents and coaches with ties to Massachusetts.

Doug Zeghibe, CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, said two teenage figure skaters, their mothers and two renowned coaches were among 14 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team who were on the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.

“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 said.

The group was returning from the National Development Camp, which took place after the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas, and was scheduled to board connecting flights from Reagan to New England on Wednesday night.

Skater Spencer Lane, 16, and his mother, Christine Lane, 49, skater Jinna Han, 13, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, and her mother, Jin Han, and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the plane.

Spencer’s father called his son a “force of a nature,” who decided he wanted to try skating three years ago after seeing Nathan Chen in the Olympics.

“His drive and tenacity… he trained at the Skating Club of Boston five days a week and attended high school online and just committed himself to it,” Douglas Lane said.

He said his wife, Christine was “a creative powerhouse,” who would do anything for her children.

Zeghibe said Spencer, who is from Barrington, Rhode Island, was a “highly-talented kid” who was “rocketing to the top of the sport,” and Jinna was a “wonderful kid, great athlete, great competitor” who was loved by all. Zeghibe said their mothers were “role-model parents” who were dedicated to their children’s sport.

A journalist who has watched and covered Jinna Han said the teen was already showing advanced skills at a young age during an event in 2023.

“Every movement was complete. She landed her jumps, she had excellent jumps, really good spins. After that performance in ’23, a lot of people really said, ‘This girl is on the up and up,'” said Kat Cornetta.

Shishkova and Naumov, who lived in Norwood, won the pairs title at the 1994 World Championships and competed at the Winter Olympics twice.

“(They) just had a really profound impact on the club,” said Adam Blake, a choreographer with the Skating Club of Boston. “Not only that, they were just really, really wonderful people.”

Described as incredibly nice and generous, the couple also pushed their students to be the best.

“With as much work they put in as athletes to become world champions, they put in just as much work to inspire young athletes of the future,” Blake said.

Their son, Maxim Naumov, who was not on the plane, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.

Video: ‘I’m not sure how to process it,’ tearful Nancy Kerrigan says

The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair crash happened at 8:48 p.m. when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita collided with the military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway.

During a morning news conference, officials said they have moved from a rescue operation to a recovery operation, as they believe no one survived the crash.

It’s not the first time tragedy has struck the Skating Club.

In 1961, a flight carrying 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team to compete in the world championships in Prague crashed as it was trying to land in Brussels. All 73 people aboard the plane died, including 16-year-old Laurence Owen, of Winchester, Massachusetts, known as “America’s Queen of the Ice.”

“Almost half of everyone aboard that plane were from (the Skating Club),” Zeghibe said. “It had long-reaching implications for the Skating Club and for the sport in this country, because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport, as well.”

The Skating Club of Boston is hosting the World Championships at TD Garden in March.

 

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