As a result of the crash of an American Airlines passenger plane near Washington, figure skating world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were killed. The death of the Russian athletes on board was reported by sports agent Ari Zakaryan.

The plane was operating flight AA 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, and collided with a military helicopter while approaching for landing near Washington, D.C. After the collision, the aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. There were 64 people on board (60 passengers and 4 crew members). According to U.S. authorities, no survivors have been found.

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov competed in pairs figure skating for the national teams of the USSR and Russia. In 1994, they became world champions, and a year later, they got married. In recent years, the couple lived in the United States, where they worked as coaches. Their son, Maxim Naumov, represents the U.S. national figure skating team.

The tragedy occurred shortly after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which took place from January 20 to 26 in Wichita.