U.S. ice skater Anton Spiridonov refuted claims suggesting he was on board the business jet that collided in midair with an Military helicopter Wednesday evening close to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport.
“Russian information shops have included me on a listing of presumed individuals on the flight from Wichita to Washington D.C.,” the skater shared on Instagram.
“I used to be NOT on this flight, thanks for everybody’s concern for my security. My coronary heart goes out to all of the households affected by this tragedy.”
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Anton Spiridonov bows after skating within the championship free dance competitors in the course of the U.S. determine skating championships at SAP Heart in San Jose, Calif., Jan. 28, 2023. (Kyle Terada/USA Right this moment Sports activities)
Spiridonov received the silver medal on the World College Video games in 2023. He additionally completed sixth on the U.S. Championships that very same 12 months. Spiridonov additionally paid tribute to his father’s former “skating companion,” Inna Volyanskaya.
“Dads skating companion,” he wrote on a submit to his Instagram story. “Relaxation in peace, Inna.”
Flight 5342 carried 60 passengers and 4 crew members, in keeping with an announcement from American Airways. The flight took off from an airport in Wichita, Kansas.
Authorities confirmed there have been three U.S. service members aboard the Military Black Hawk helicopter when the plane departed Davison Military Airfield at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The airfield is positioned about 15 miles southwest of Reagan Washington Nationwide.
Emergency items reply to the crash website of an American Airways airplane and Black Hawk helicopter on the Potomac River in Arlington, Va., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Leigh Inexperienced for Fox Information Digital)
The passenger jet and the navy helicopter each crashed into the Potomac River because the business airplane was approaching one of many airport runways. In a information convention Thursday morning, officers confirmed that 27 our bodies from the airplane and one from the Black Hawk helicopter had been pulled from the frigid waters.
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U.S. Determine Skating launched an announcement confirming that “a number of members of our skating group” had been aboard the flight. The group mentioned they had been returning residence from a improvement camp after the U.S. Determine Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, which concluded Sunday.
Fox Information’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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