In crashed in There were Russian figure skaters and coaches on the plane

On board the crashed landing at Reagan Airport in In Washington, the American passenger plane Bombardier CRJ700, which collided with a military helicopter, were Russian figure skaters and coaches flying from the championship. This was stated by sports agent Ari Zakaryan.

Zakaryan, a well-known agent in sports circles, told Match TV that representatives of the Russian figure skating school who participated in the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita at the Intrast Bank Arena were on the plane.

"Until we find out, I can't talk. It is known that there were their own. I don't want to give a name, but ours were there. You'll see soon enough. Now is not the time to talk about it. There were good friends there," he said.

RT adds, with reference to Zakaryan, that we are talking about a group of figure skaters, among whom could be two former coaches from Russia, so far there is no exact information about who it could be.

Figure skater Ilya Malinin wrote in social networks:

"I hope and pray that everyone who was on board is well. May God protect you."

According to TASS, on board the crashed plane was the bronze medalist of the USSR championship in pair skating Inna Volyanskaya.

"There was an ex-Russian figure skating coach Inna Volyanskaya on board the crashed plane," the agency's source said.

Volyanskaya is 58 years old, she performed in a pair with Valery Spiridonov. Together they became bronze medalists of the USSR Championship (1980), won the The Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR (1982) and the USSR Cup (1980).

American Airlines Flight 5342 took off from Wichita and crashed near Washington. The White House confirmed that a military helicopter was involved in the incident. After the collision, the board fell into the Potomac River.

It is known that from January 20 to January 26 in Wichita hosted the US Figure Skating Championships, where medals were distributed in men's and women's singles, pair skating and ice dancing, covering senior, junior and beginner levels. More than 180 skaters took part in these competitions.

Ilya Malinin won gold in men's single skating, showing a brilliant program. He performed six quadruple jumps, including a quadruple axel. The silver medal was won by Andrew Torgashev, and the bronze by Camden Pulkinen. There were no Russian women among the medal winners, but Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov became the best in doubles competitions.