(NewsNation) — As officials continued their search and recovery operation after an American Airlines regional jet collided with a military helicopter while preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., more than two dozen bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River.
The jet was carrying 64 people while the helicopter had three aboard. It appears all involved were killed, which would make this the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years. Authorities were continuing to search for remains on Thursday.
LISTEN: Audio captures air traffic control at moment of DC crash
D.C. fire and EMS chief John A. Donnelly said during a news conference Thursday that he’s confident all of the bodies from the crash will ultimately be recovered.
Here’s what we know about those who were aboard the aircraft.
Crew members killed in DC plane crash
First Officer Sam Lilley was one of the crew members killed in the crash, his father, Tim Lilley, confirmed to NewsNation.
Sam Lilley was a pilot for PSA, which is owned by American Airlines. He was a native of Richmond Hill, Georgia, Nexstar’s WSAV has learned.
First Officer Sam Lilley was one of those killed when a passenger jet collided with a helicopter. (Tim Lilley)
First Officer Sam Lilley was one of those killed in the plane crash. (Tim Lilley)
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” Tim Lilley wrote in WSAV. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep. I know I’ll see him again but my heart is breaking.”
Flight attendant Ian Epstein was also aboard the flight, his wife, Debi, confirmed to Nexstar’s WJZY.
“He died doing what he loved,” Epstein said Thursday, adding that her husband had switched careers five years ago so he could travel the world. Their daughter is set to get married in just eight weeks.
Two of the flight attendants on board were members of the Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America, the union confirmed. A relative of a CWA staff member was also killed in the crash.
Other members of the flight crew have not yet been identified, but officials confirmed to WJZY that it was a Charlotte, North Carolina-based flight crew.
Three soldiers who were doing night training
The bodies of all three soldiers who were on the helicopter have been recovered, officials say. Their remains will be at Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. That office coordinates the dignified transfer of fallen service members, officials told the Associated Press.
No identities of the crew have been released.
The three soldiers were doing an annual night proficiency training flight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding they were a “fairly experienced crew.” Officials were notifying relatives, he said.
Students, parents from Virginia schools
Three students from schools in Fairfax County, Virginia and six parents from the district were on board the plane, superintendent Michelle Reid said in a letter to families. She did not identify them, but said the students were from different schools and that two of the parents were current or former district staffers.
It’s unclear if any of the students or parents were among those already identified by officials in the ice skating community.
In neighboring Loudoun County, a coach at a skating club was also identified as among the passengers, Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam confirmed. The club, Ashburn Ice House, said that its “figure skating community has been directly affected,” but did not give further details.
Cedarville University in Ohio confirmed Thursday that one of the victims of the crash was student Grace Maxwell. Maxwell was a junior majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering and was anticipating her graduation in 2026, the college said in a statement.
“Grace was a quiet person with a keen interest in helping others through engineering,” Tim Norman, who served as her secondary advisor, said. She had been scheduled to serve on a “project team this semester that would begin to create a hand-stabilizing device for a differently enabled Dayton boy so he could feed himself rather than relying on others,” according to the school.
US figure skaters, coaches
A group of figure skaters and coaches were among the passengers of the American Airlines jet.
Skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, and their mothers Jin and Christine were on the plane, Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe said Thursday.
Christine’s husband, Douglas, told Nexstar’s WPRI that Spencer and his younger brother, Milo, were adopted from South Korea. Douglas described Christina as a beautiful, creative person and their son Spencer as “a force of nature.”
“Whether he was in his home club in Boston, [Spencer] was just loved by everyone,” Douglas explained. “From adults running the club to smaller skaters, to the people that are competing for a shot at the Olympics, they all adored him.”
The University of Delaware confirmed that Sasha Kirsanov, a former coach for the school’s figure skating club, also died in the crash.
“We believe two young skaters who were members of the UD Figure Skating Club also were on board,” Dennis Assanis, the school’s president, said in a statement. “It is unknown at this time whether these young skaters — who are not UD students — were accompanied by their parents or other chaperones.”
Nexstar’s WTAJ has confirmed with sources that Donna Smojice Livingston and her husband Peter were aboard the flight, as were their daughters, Everly and Alydia, both skaters.
In all, 14 of the victims were coming back from a national development camp for promising young skaters following the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas, Zeghibe said.
The Chinese embassy in the U.S. said two Chinese nationals were also among the victims of the crash. It did not offer further details.
Kremlin: Former champion Russian skaters killed
The Kremlin confirmed Thursday that Russian figure skaters and other Russian nationals were on the jet. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed at the Winter Olympics twice, were aboard the plane.
The couple were coaches for the Skating Club of Boston.
Audio captures air traffic control at moment of DC crash
“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed. There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash,” he said.
Maxim Naumov, the son of Shishkova and Naumov, had been in Wichita with his parents. He flew home on Monday, according to Zeghibe.
Hunters headed home
Seven people returning from a guided hunting trip in Kansas were killed, according to a Facebook post by Fowl Plains, the guide service.
The Fowl Plains team said they had grown close to the hunters on board the flight over the years and considered them to be family members. The post doesn’t identify the hunters by name, but it says they had spent the past week on a guided hunt, “laughing, talking about our families and sharing memories.”
“Heartbroken is an understatement,” the company said.
Maryland Steamfitters union says members were aboard
Those killed also included four steamfitters, all members of a United Association union local in suburban Maryland, union leaders said in a social media post Thursday.
“The entire United Association is grateful to the first responders who worked tirelessly through the night, and who will continue to investigate what happened,” the post on X reads. “Our focus now is on providing support and care to the families of our Brothers as we continue to gather more information in the coming days. We will share more details as they become available, including a nationwide UA relief effort for the families. These members will be forever in our hearts, and may God bless them and their loved ones. May they forever rest in peace.”
Who else was aboard the flight?
Few of the remaining passengers aboard the American Eagle flight have been identified as of Thursday evening.
Among those confirmed to have died in the crash is 28-year-old Melissa Jane Nicandri, of New York City. Nicandri’s family confirmed the news.
Nexstar’s WJZY has learned a mother of two small children from Charlotte, North Carolina, was killed. She had been returning from a business trip and was set to have a layover in the District of Columbia.
Grace Maxwell, 20, was returning to college after visiting her hometown of Wichita to attend her grandfather’s funeral, her father told The Wichita Eagle. Dean Maxwell told the outlet that he had not yet been contacted by authorities but knew his daughter was aboard the American Eagle flight.
Bob and Lori Schrock of Kiowa, Kansas, were said to be flying into Washington en route to visit their daughter, who is attending college in Philadelphia, Nexstar’s KSN has learned.
Asra Hussain, 26, is believed to have died in the crash. Originally from Carmel, Indiana, Hussain was returning from work-related travel, Nexstar WXIN reports. Her husband, Hamaad Raza, confirmed to WXIN that her body has not yet been found.
DC plane crash: What to know
American Eagle Flight 5342 was en route from Wichita, Kansas, with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard when it collided Wednesday with a UH-60 Black Hawk carrying three soldiers. Both aircraft went into the icy Potomac River, prompting a large search and rescue operation.
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The midair crash occurred shortly before 9 p.m. local time Wednesday, shutting down the airport until at least 11 a.m. Officials talked in terms of recovering the bodies of passengers rather than rescues.
There were no immediate reports on casualties or the cause of the collision, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport were halted as dive teams searched the site and helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene.
Emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30 in Arlington, Virginia. The flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter while approaching the airport. Dozens of people are feared to have died in the midair collision. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30 in Arlington, Virginia. The flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching the airport. According to reports, there were no survivors amongst the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
American Airlines has set up centers in D.C. and Wichita for people seeking information about relatives.
People who believe they have family members on the flights and are looking for further information are asked to call 800-697-8215.
NewsNation’s digital producer Michael Ramsey, correspondent Tom Dempsey, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.