U.S. ice skater Anton Spiridonov refuted claims suggesting he was on board the commercial jet that collided in midair with an Army helicopter Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“Russian news outlets have included me on a list of presumed people on the flight from Wichita to Washington D.C.,” the skater shared on Instagram.
“I was NOT on this flight, thank you for everyone’s concern for my safety. My heart goes out to all the families affected by this tragedy.”
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Spiridonov won the silver medal at the World University Games in 2023. He also finished sixth at the U.S. Championships that same year. Spiridonov also paid tribute to his father’s former “skating partner,” Inna Volyanskaya.
“Dads skating partner,” he wrote on a post to his Instagram story. “Rest in peace, Inna.”
Flight 5342 carried 60 passengers and four crew members, according to a statement from American Airlines. The flight took off from an airport in Wichita, Kansas.
Authorities confirmed there were three U.S. service members aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter when the aircraft departed Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The airfield is located about 15 miles southwest of Reagan Washington National.
The passenger jet and the military helicopter both crashed into the Potomac River as the commercial plane was approaching one of the airport runways. In a news conference Thursday morning, officials confirmed that 27 bodies from the plane and one from the Black Hawk helicopter had been pulled from the frigid waters.
U.S. Figure Skating released a statement confirming that “several members of our skating community” were aboard the flight. The organization said they were returning home from a development camp after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, which concluded Sunday.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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