• Members of the U.S. Figure Skating team were aboard American Airlines flight 5342 and are all feared dead following the crash in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29.
• Russian world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also reportedly on the flight.
• The U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held in Wichita, followed by a national development camp, which skaters, coaches and their families were returning from.

Several members of the U.S. Figure Skating team were among the 60 passengers traveling on the American Airlines plane that collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

Russian world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also reportedly on the flight.

American Airlines flight 5342 had departed Wichita, Kansas, before crashing into the military aircraft over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time, the FAA said in an initial statement to PEOPLE.

U.S Figure Skating confirmed members of their community were onboard the aircraft in a statement to PEOPLE.

“U.S. Figure Skating 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.,” the Jan. 30 statement read.

“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,” the governing body added.

“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,” the statement concluded.

The plane, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, had been traveling from Wichita at the time of the accident. The 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships had been held in the city from Jan. 20 until Jan. 26, the U.S. Figure Skating website stated.

1994 pairs figure skating world champions Evgenia Shishkova, 52, and Vadim Naumov, 55, were also among those onboard the plane, reported Reuters and The Guardian, citing the TASS and RIA news agencies in Russia.

Per TASS, Shishkova and Naumov won silver and bronze medals at the World Championships in pairs skating, as well as one silver and four bronze medals at the European Championships. They also “claimed victory at the International Skating Union Grand Prix Final for the 1995/96 season,” the news agency stated.

The couple, who were reportedly married, were thought to have lived in the U.S. since at least 1998 after retiring from their competitive careers. They helped to train young ice skaters, according to Reuters.

Ludmila Velikova, who trained Shishkova and Naumov when they were children, told Reuters that a group of 14 skaters and trainers had reportedly been on the plane at the time of the crash. She added that Shishkova and Naumov’s son Maxim, 23, was not on the same aircraft, despite previous reports.

“They were my favorite sports people. They were part of my first attempt at the world championships and became champions in 1994. They were talented and beautiful people,” Velikova said, per the news agency.

“Apart from anything else they were my children. Zhenya (Shishkova) trained with me from the age of 11 and Vladik (Naumov) from age 14. They were like my own children. What’s happened is awful. The best people have been taken away from us,” she added while speaking in Saint Petersburg.

According to the U.S. Figure Skating team’s website, Maxim Naumov competed in the recent Wichita event. He’s previously represented the U.S. in singles skating.

PEOPLE also understands that American figure skater Ilia Malinin, 20, returned from the competition on Sunday, Jan. 26, but multiple young skaters were returning home at the time of the accident.

At least 19 bodies had been recovered from the Potomac River by 2:50 a.m. ET following the crash, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CBS News.

According to CNN, the U.S Army Black Hawk helicopter had three soldiers onboard.

“We can confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight’s incident was an Army UH-60 helicopter out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia. We are working with local officials and will provide additional information once it becomes available,” a U.S. Army official told the outlet in a statement.