Dancing On Ice's Torvill and Dean 'deeply saddened' in tribute to American Airlines crash victims
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have paid tribute after an American Airline flight crashed into a helicopter. The Dancing on Ice judges have taken to social media with their condolences. American Airlines Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter on approach to Reagan National Airport.
The passenger plane believed to be carrying 64 people crashed in the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National after hitting a US Army helicopter near the American capital on Wednesday evening. Three US army soldiers were on board the Black Hawk helicopter.
The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport at around 9pm local time (2am GMT) on Wednesday when the two aircrafts collided. Figure skaters from the US were among those who were on board the plane. There were also two Russian figure skaters onboard - married Yevgenia Skhiskhkova and Vadim Naumov.
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Naumov and Shishkova were Russian former world champions. The married couple won the world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994.
Olympic skating legends, Jayne and Chris have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter to pay tribute. They posted: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of those on flight 5342 and extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and friends. May they rest in peace."
The American Airlines aircraft had been attempting to land, having travelled from Wichita, Kansas, when it collided with the Army helicopter said to have been on a training flight. An intense search and rescue mission is currently underway but officials believe there are “no survivors”. The devastating collision is the first fatal crash involving a commercial US airliner in 15 years.
At around 7pm local time last night, US figure skater, Spencer Lane, 26, shared photo of the jet on the runway at Wichita Airport in Kansas before taking off for its last flight. The caption read, "ICT - > DCA" which are the codes for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The skaters had attended a National Development Camp for young skaters in Kansas, and were returning home to the DC area.
Shortly after the crash last night, President Trump wrote on Truth Social account that it "looks like it should have been prevented". He has been active on his account in the past hour, saying: "I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport.
"May god bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise."