Philadelphia-area skating club confirms members are among those killed in Washington plane crash

The Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society confirmed Thursday that members of the club had died when an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet collided over the Potomac River, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.

Members of a Philadelphia-area ice skating club are among the victims of Wednesday night’s deadly plane crash in Washington D.C. 

The Montgomery County-based Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society confirmed Thursday that members of the club had died when a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet collided over the Potomac River, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.

At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet late Wednesday while it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, officials said. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.

“We feel immense grief at the loss of so many talented skaters, their coaches, and families,” the Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society said in a statement. “We share this loss and grief with the entire USFS Community. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone during this tragic time.” 

The skating club didn’t immediately identify the members who died in the crash.

The Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society was the first ice skating club in the U.S., and celebrated its 175th anniversary at a gala in December. Club members have won national and international titles. Its most famous members include Olympic medalists Dick Button and Scott Hamilton.

In all, 14 of the victims were coming back from a national development camp for promising young skaters following the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe said Thursday that skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane and their mothers were among those killed, along with 1994 pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia.

The collision is the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2001.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard.

“On final approach into Reagan National, it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said.

A top Army aviation official said the Black Hawk crew was “very experienced” and familiar with the congested flying that occurs daily around Washington.

“Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasn’t something new to either one of them,” said Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation. “Even the crew chief in the back has been in the unit for a very long time, very familiar with the area, very familiar with the routing structure.”

The helicopter’s maximum allowed altitude at the time of the crash was 200 feet above ground, Koziol said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that elevation seemed to be a factor in the collision.

But Koziol said investigators need to analyze the flight data before making conclusions about altitude.

“Both aircraft will have recorders on board that will give us all of that information once we recover it, to give us the real truth on what those aircraft were doing. Up until now, it would just be speculation,” he said.

Inside Reagan National Airport, the mood was somber Thursday morning as stranded passengers waited for flights to resume, sidestepping camera crews and staring out the terminal’s windows at the Potomac, where recovery efforts were barely visible in the distance.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn in earlier this week, said there were “early indicators of what happened,” though he declined to elaborate pending an investigation.

It is not unusual to have a military aircraft flying the river and an aircraft landing at the airport, he said, but added that he believed the crash could have been avoided.

“From what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.” he said.

Keystone senior community editor Patrick Berkery contributed to this report.