Officials believe that all 67 people aboard an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter were killed when the two aircraft collided in midair while approaching Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport Wednesday night.
As of reporting, at least 55 bodies — including those of three soldiers who were aboard the helicopter — have been pulled from the Potomac River amid an ongoing recovery effort and identified, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said at a Feb. 2 press briefing. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the crash.
"It's my belief that we're going to recover everyone," Donnelly said.
Twenty-eight of the plane's passengers were connected to the figure skating community, including performers, their parents and coaches, according to a statement from U.S. Figure Skating. They had been returning from a development camp and the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
Officials have still not released a list of the identified victims, but families and friends have confirmed some of the passengers in media interviews and social media posts.
Among those in the skating community were Roger Haynos, his wife, Stephanie, and their son Cory. Grace Maxwell, an engineering student from Cedarville University in Ohio, has also been identified as one of the victims.
The Chinese Embassy said there were two Chinese citizens on the plane as well, although it did not release either of their names. The Philippine Embassy also confirmed Police Colonel Pergentino Malabed Jr. was on the flight.
Here's what we know about some of the other people confirmed to have been directly impacted by the crash. Follow Yahoo News's live coverage of the crash here.
Figure skating club members
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed in a Thursday statement that "several members of our skating community" were on the American Airlines flight that collided with the Army helicopter. "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 statement said.
Among those plane crash victims were six people associated with the Skating Club of Boston, CEO Doug Zeghibe told a media press conference Thursday morning. The victims were two up-and-coming teenage skaters, their respective mothers and two former Russian figure skating professionals turned coaches.
“Six is a horrific number for us,” Zeghibe said. “But we’re fortunate and grateful it wasn’t more than six. This will have long-reaching impacts for our skating community.”
Other victims include members of the Washington Figure Skating Club, the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club, as well as the Skating Club of Northern Virginia.
Spencer Lane, 16, and his mom, Christine
“Spencer, in the best way possible, was a crazy kid,” Zeghibe said. “Highly talented, like incredibly talented. Has not been skating very long and rocketed to the top of the sport. Very fun, very cerebral, a good thinker.”
His mom, Christine, was also on the flight. Her husband, Lane's father, Douglas, told WCVB5 that Christine was a "creative powerhouse" who would do anything for her children.
On Wednesday, Lane shared a series of photos on his Instagram celebrating his experience at the development camp in Wichita.
“Huge thank you to all the amazing friends, coaches, and faculty that i have met over the last week,” he wrote. “It was such an amazing experience.”
Jinna Han, 16, and her mom, Jin
“Jinna was just a wonderful kid,” Zeghibe said. “Great athlete, great competitor. Loved by all.”
Coaches Evgenia Shishkova, 52, and Vadim Naumov, 55
Shishkova and Naumov were former world champion skaters who represented Russia in the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics before turning to coaching. They had worked as coaches for the Skating Club of Boston since 2017.
Lyudmila Velikova, who used to coach Shishkova and Naumov, told Russian state news agency Tass that she had been in touch with the couple before last week's event in Kansas, the Associated Press reported.
“Everything was going well for them. They traveled to the main competitions in America and they had very good, worthy students,” Velikova said. “Many people wanted to work with them.”
One of Shishkova and Naumov’s top figure skating students was their only child, 23-year-old Maxim Naumov, who finished in fourth place last week at the championships in Wichita. Maxim flew home on a separate flight Monday with Zeghibe.
Alydia and Everly Livingston, and their parents, Donna and Peter
The Kansas City Star and USA Today reported that the Livingstons, a family of four, were all onboard the American Airlines jet.
Both Alydia and Everly qualified for the national figure skating development team last week.
"We are devastated to hear the news of American Eagle flight 5342," the Washington Figure Skating Club posted on Instagram. "Our thoughts and prayers are with our skating family during this difficult time."
Coach Inna Volyanskaya
A skating coach at Ashburn Ice House, Volyanskaya traveled to Wichita because she trained Alydia Livingston. Before becoming a coach 15 years ago, Volyanskaya was a skater who represented the Soviet Union at competitions in the 1980s.
Volyanskaya's ex-husband and fellow skating coach Ross Lansel told News4 Northern Virginia that Volyanskaya was "one of the best skaters I've ever seen."
“Just knowing the impact she made to all the skaters and everyone just hurts my soul and just I wish all those kids that she taught, just my condolences and I wish them — all my prayers go out to them,” Lansel said. “I wish them the best of life and everything because I know it’s going to be so hard without her. It’s tough because as a figure skating coach, you mean a lot to these kids and you’re like the individual person for them.”
Sean Kay
Kay was one of five members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club who went to the national development camp in Wichita, according to a post shared on the club's Instagram page last week.
Not everyone mentioned in the post was on the plane that crashed, however. Both Emmanuel Savary and Zoe and Jerry Stone posted photos on their Instagram Stories referencing the crash on Thursday, confirming they were not on the flight.
USA Today, however, named Kay and another young skater, Angela Yang, as being on the flight.
Brielle Beyer, and her mother Justyna
Brielle Beyer, 12, was a member of the Skating Club of Northern Virginia. She and her mother, Justyna Magdalena Beyer, 42, were in Wichita so she could sharpen her skating skills. Both of them were on the American Airlines jet that collided with the Army helicopter.
Angela Yang
"Had so so much fun at camp!!!" Yang wrote on Instagram after the national development camp wrapped up. "I'm really gonna miss my friends and all the great coaches! I can't wait for next year!"
Coach Alexandr Kirsanov, 46
Before becoming a coach and training skaters like Kay and Yang, Kirsanov was an ice dancer himself who competed for the U.S., Azerbaijan and Russia.
In the aftermath of the crash news, Kirsanov's wife, Natalya Gudin, told ABC News she "lost everything."
Gudin, who is also a skating coach, had decided to stay home in Delaware last week rather than travel with her husband. She said the last time she spoke to him was when he boarded the flight Wednesday.
“I lost my husband, I lost my students, I lost my friends,” Gudin said. “I need my husband back. I need his body back.”
American Airlines flight crew
As of Thursday afternoon, three of the four crew members aboard the American Airlines flight had been identified.
First officer Sam Lilley, 28
Lilley's father, Tim Lilley, confirmed to NewsNation that his son was a pilot for the regional airline owned by American and was months away from being promoted to airline captain.
“Samuel was in the prime of his life,” Lilley said. “He was engaged to a beautiful, wonderful girl and we were all excited about her joining the family.”
Captain Jonathan Campos, 34
An unnamed fellow pilot from the airline told CNN that Campos was on the flight and had been a captain for American Airlines since 2022.
Flight attendant Danasia Brown Elder
Carolyn Edwards, a cousin of Elder's, confirmed to NBC News that she was on the American Airlines flight — and it was supposed to be her last before changing careers within the airline.
Flight attendant Ian Epstein, 52
Epstein’s wife, Debi, shared the news “with a very heavy heart and extreme sadness” on Facebook Thursday morning.
“Ian Epstein was one of the flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 5342,” she wrote. “Please pray for Ian and our family as we travel to DC.”
Civil rights attorney
Kiah Duggins, 30, was a civil rights attorney for the nonprofit Civil Rights Corps in Washington, D.C. She was visiting her hometown of Wichita to be with her mother during a surgical procedure before she headed back to D.C. Howard University officials said Duggins "was set to begin a new chapter" at the university's law school this fall. Harriet's Wildest Dreams, a Black-led community defense hub, posted the following tribute to Duggins on Instagram.
Indiana University alumna
Asra Hussain, 26, was one of the passengers on the American Airlines jet, the Indianapolis Star reported. Hussain was in Kansas for a work trip and was returning to D.C. to meet her husband, Hamaad Raza. Hussain sent Raza a message that her plane was 20 minutes from landing, but Hussain's response never went through.
Raza said he met Hussain in college in Indiana. "Kindest person I've ever met," Raza said of his wife to NBC News. "She went above and beyond and then took a giant leap over that when it came to doing things for other people, for me, for her parents, for my parents."
2 associates at high-profile D.C. law firm
Liz Keys, 33, and Sarah Lee Best, 33, were among the victims of the American Airlines crash and were both associates of the Wilkinson Stekloff law firm in Washington, D.C. They were on their way home from Kansas after completing a deposition.
"We are heartbroken by this terrible tragedy," Beth Wilkinson, the firm's founder, said in a Thursday statement, according to the Wall Street Journal. "Liz and Sarah were cherished members of our firm—wonderful attorneys, colleagues, and friends. It is hard to imagine the firm without them. We are keeping them in our memories and their families in our thoughts and prayers."
2 parents from Kiowa, Kan.
Lori Schrock, 56, and Robert "Bob" Schrock, 58, were traveling from Wichita to D.C. on Wednesday night to visit their daughter Ellie, the Washington Post reported. Ellie, a junior at Villanova University in Philadelphia, was excited to see her parents. The plan was for them to travel from D.C. to Philadelphia to see Ellie. The couple lived in Kiowa, Kan., about 90 miles southwest of Wichita near the Oklahoma border, where Bob worked as a farmer.
A wife and mother of 2 young boys
Wendy Jo Shaffer of Charlotte, N.C., was a wife and mother of two boys, ages 1 and 3. A verified GoFundMe page for her family set up by friends describes Shaffer as a "radiant soul" whose "love, kindness, and unwavering spirit touched everyone who knew her, and her absence leaves a void that can never be filled."
Steamfitters’ union members
The United Association steamfitters’ union, which represents workers involved in the installation and maintenance of piping systems in residential, commercial and industrial projects, said in a statement that several members of its Maryland-based organization were on the American Airlines flight.
“We are heartbroken to confirm that four members of UA Steamfitters Local 602 were among the victims of the American Airlines Flight 5342 crash yesterday,” the union wrote. “These members will be forever in our hearts, and may God bless them and their loved ones. May they forever rest in peace.”
The names of the four union members have not been released.
Group of friends returning from hunting trip
There was a group of friends on the flight returning from spending a few days on a hunting trip in Kansas, the New York Times reported.
“It was a boys’ trip,” Shawna Slarb, a cousin of one of the hunters, told the Times. “They were there on a duck hunt.”
Slarb said her cousin who was on the trip, Michael Stovall, was flying with at least six of his friends. One of them was identified as Jesse Pitcher by his father, Jameson.
“He said he’d see me when he got back,” Jameson said about his son.
Soldiers aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter
The Army has confirmed that Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara, 28, Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, 39, and Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, 28, were on board the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed midair with the American Airlines flight.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the three soldiers aboard the Army helicopter that crashed were a captain, staff sergeant and chief warrant officer. The Army did not immediately release Captain Lobach’s identity at the family’s request.
"It was a fairly experienced crew," Hegseth said in a video shared on X. "It's a tragedy, a horrible loss of life."
Jonathan Koziol, a retired Army chief warrant officer who now serves as the chief of staff for the Headquarters Department of the Army Aviation Directorate, told reporters Thursday afternoon that the Black Hawk crew was on a nighttime qualification training flight. There was an instructor pilot aboard who was evaluating how another pilot navigated flight routes around the Potomac River.
Koziol said the instructor pilot had more than 1,000 flight hours in a Black Hawk and the other pilot had more than 500 hours.