Moment people break down at Boston skating club of plane crash victims

by · Mail Online

Loved ones of six Washington plane crash victims were pictured on Thursday in heartbreaking scenes, visiting the ice skating club which they belonged to.

Six members of the Skating Club of Boston were among the passengers on the American Airlines plane that collided with an Army helicopter in Washington DC on Wednesday, with all 60 passengers and four crew members feared to be dead.

A day later, people were seen at The Skating Club of Boston honoring the lives of the victims, with one woman seen bringing flowers into the building.

In another picture, two women can be seen sharing a hug.

Another scene from the Norwood, Massachusetts-based facility on Thursday shows a young man being consoled by a woman.

Doug Zeghibe, the head of the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts , announced the names of the six people associated with his club who were on board.

A woman was seen bringing flowers to the Skating Club of Boston on Thursday
Two more women were seen embracing one another with a hug following the tragedy
Figure skater, Spencer Lane, 26, (middle back) alongside Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova, (middle front) 53, and Vadim Naumov, 56, (right) have been confirmed as passengers

They are: Jinna Han, Jin Han, Spencer Lane, Christine Lane, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova.

The update from Zeghibe comes after Lane shared a photo from inside the doomed plane shortly before it crashed.

The 26-year-old uploaded the photo around 7pm ET Wednesday, which appeared to show the jet taxiing on the runway at Wichita Airport before it took off for its final flight.

He captioned it ICT -> DCA,  the codes for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Other elite members of the American figure skating team who were expected at the next winter Olympics were also onboard the plan , a bombardier CRJ700.

In total, 14 members of the skating community have been confirmed to have been onboard. 

They were returning home to the DC area after attending a National Development Camp for young skaters in Wichita, Kansas.

The son of Russian figure skaters Skhiskhkova and Naumov, Maxim, was at the Wichita camp although it is unclear if he was also on the fateful flight.

Shishkova and Vadim Naumov won the World Figure Skating Championship in pairs in 1994 
Jinna Han (pictured front row in red) and her mother Jin were also confirmed as passengers
A young man could be seen being consoled in another emotional scene at the skating club

In a statement, Zeghibe said: 'Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy.

'Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 or 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.

US Figure Skating added in their own statement: 'We can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C. 

'These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

'We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.'

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BREAKING NEWS
Figure skaters' 'final words to their son' before crash revealed

Young American figure skater, Jon Maravilla, was saved from the crash after he was barred from boarding the plane because his dog was too big.

Maravilla told RIA Novosti that after he was told he couldn't bring his dog onboard, he decided to take a car instead.

Another American figure skater, Anton Spiridonov, who was said to be among the victims has revealed he was never on board the flight in the first place.

At least 28 bodies were pulled from the Potomac River after the midair collision Wednesday night, when the helicopter apparently flew in the path of the jet as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington.

Crews were still searching for other casualties but did not believe there were any survivors, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years.