Four crew members on the plane also died, alongside three service personnel on the chopper. Skating stars, known as Torvill and Dean, expressed their sadness in an emotional post on X to pay their respects. Torvill and Dean wrote: 'We are deeply saddened by the loss of those on flight and extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and friends.
May they rest in peace. US figure skating has confirmed that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on board the flight, and had been returning home from the National Development Camp which is held in conjunction with the national championships. The collision happened at around 9 p.
A few minutes before the jet was to land, air traffic controllers asked American Airlines Flight if it could do so on a shorter runway, and the pilots agreed. Controllers cleared the jet to land and flight tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway. Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked a helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight.
The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, saying 'PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ' — apparently telling the copter to wait for the Bombardier CRJ twin-engine jet to pass. There was no reply. Seconds after that, the aircraft collided. Pictured: Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov , who were reportedly on the plane, with their son Maxim, 23, a prominent US figure skater. The passengers included figure skaters returning from the U.
Other Russian nationals in addition to Shishkova and Naumov were also on the plane, according to the Kremlin. Coaches, skaters and others had been at the championships, which concluded Sunday, and a development camp.
