A tragic family story has emerged in light of the American Airlines air disaster. A commercial jet carrying 60 passengers and three crew members was coming in to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport shortly before 9pm on Wednesday US time - 2am here in the UK - when it collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter. The small aircraft, which had three people onboard, was on a training flight from Virginia.

Locals who witnessed the horrific crash saw a white fireball in the sky, not understanding what they were witnessing until emergency services rushed to devastating scene at the River Potomac. A complex rescue operation ensued but tragically, all 67 people who were either on the airplane or helicopter have been confirmed dead. While the majority of victims have yet to be identified, the crash has already ripped through the close-knit community of the figure skating. American figure skater John Maravilla, as reported by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, said: "I don't want to name names, but there were around 14 figure skaters on the plane, not counting their parents and several coaches.".

World champion figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were named as being passengers onboard Flight 5342 by Russian state media. The married couple, who won the World Figure Skating Championship in pairs in 1994, were attending the US Figure Skating Championship in Wichita, Kansas. Evgenia, 53, and Vadim, 56, were born in Leningrad, moving to the US in 1998 to work as coaches. They were said to be travelling with a group of young skaters. The couple's son Maxim Naumov, a Team USA skater, placed fourth at the competition and was not on the plane, with team mate Anton Spiridonov telling Russian media the 23-year-old had taken a flight on Monday. "He was at the airport with me, going through security at the same time," he said.

US figure skating confirmed skaters, coaches and their family members had been onboard, returning home from the National Development Camp which is held in conjunction with the national championships. "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts," said the sport's governing body. The International Skating Union added: "We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends and coaches, are understood to be among those on board. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport — it's a close-knit family — and we stand together.".

With more than 300 first responders working to recover victims from the crash site, aviation expert Alex Macheras told The Mirror the worst air disaster for 15 years on US soil would "almost certainly" lead to change. "This also involved a commercial jet equipped with TCAS—technology designed to help prevent mid-air collisions—operated by trained pilots who are drilled in avoiding such situations," he said.