A pair of 16-year-old figure skaters, their mothers and two Russian coaches were among the victims of the Washington DC plane disaster.
Officials said on Thursday, local time, there were likely to be no survivors of the American Airlines flight, which collided with an army helicopter and plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River late on Wednesday night, local time.
The bodies of 28 passengers from the jet were recovered, officials said.
Fourteen members of the skating community were on board, AP has reported.
They were named as teenagers Spencer Lane and Jinna Hahn, their mothers Christine Lane and Jin Hahn, from Boston, and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, both from Russia.
Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe said the group was returning from a national development camp for promising young skaters, after the US Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
"Skating is a very close and tight-knit community. These kids and their parents, they’re here at our facility in Norwood, six, sometimes seven days a week. It’s a close, tight bond," he said.
"This will have long-reaching impacts for our skating community."
The Kremlin confirmed that Ms Shishkova and Mr Naumov were aboard.
Among their students is their 23-year-old son, Maxim, a former US junior champion who has finished fourth at senior nationals the past three years, narrowly missing the podium on Sunday while his parents watched at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita.
Maxim Naumov flew home on Monday.
“He had no reason to stay at the national development camp,” Mr Zeghibe said in a briefing inside the rink about 30 minutes south of Boston.
“Both of his parents were with him while he was competing."
The cause of the disaster has not yet been identified.
Officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.
"We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends and coaches, are understood to be among those on board," US Figure Skating said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.
"Figure skating is more than a sport — it’s a close-knit family — and we stand together."
Considered one of the most prestigious clubs in the world, the Skating Club of Boston produced Olympic and world champions Dick Button and Tenley Albright, Olympic medallists Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wylie and scores of US champions.
Spencer Lane was a sectional champion who had become popular among the skating community on social media, where he had thousands of TikTok followers.
On Wednesday, he had posted a video showing him doing a triple toe loop to wrap up the development camp.
"I am so happy to have qualified for national development camp earlier in November. It has been my goal almost ever since I became aware that it was a thing. I learned so much new information that I can apply to my everyday life, and met so many amazing people," he had said in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
He later posted a photo of him aboard the plane just before it departed from Wichita.
"I’m heartbroken by the tragic loss of my fellow skaters in this devastating accident," said reigning world champion Ilia Malinin, who won his third consecutive national title in Wichita.
"The figure skating community is a family, and this loss is beyond words."
Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov moved to the US and became coaches, first at the International Skating Center of Connecticut and since 2017 at the Boston club that has served as a training ground for world-class skaters since 1912.
Echoes of 1961
For the Boston club, the accident was an eerie reminder of a 1961 plane crash that killed the entire US delegation en route to the world championships in Prague.
The world championships were cancelled that year out of respect for the American team killed in the crash.
"Almost half of everybody on board that plane were from this club," Mr Zeghibe said.
"It had long, long-reaching implications for the skating club and for the sport in this country, because when you lose coaches like this, you lose the future of the sport as well. It’s been a long time in redeveloping it, and I personally feel that this club has just now, almost 60 years later, been coming out of the shadow of that 1961 crash."
The European championships are taking place this week in Tallinn, Estonia. They were expected to continue as scheduled.
"The International Skating Union and the global skating community are deeply shocked by the tragic accident involving an American Airlines flight in Washington, DC. We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends, and coaches, are understood to be among those on board," the ISU said in a statement.
"We remain in close contact with US Figure Skating and offer our full support during this incredibly difficult time."
Flowers had begun to arrive at the club's reception desk by the late morning.
