Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton expressed profound grief as he remembered the figure skating community members lost in a devastating mid-air collision. An American Airlines flight carrying athletes, coaches, and families from a development camp in Kansas to Washington, D.C., collided with an Army helicopter, resulting in numerous fatalities.

Hamilton, a four-time world champion, shared his heartbreak during a televised interview, describing the tragedy as "overwhelming" and "beyond devastating." The incident, occurring shortly after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, has left the skating world reeling.

Among the victims were renowned ice skating coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, 1994 world champions. Hamilton recounted a recent visit with the couple in Kansas, just days before the accident, expressing his disbelief at their sudden loss.

Shishkova and Naumov, who married in 1995, had relocated to Connecticut from Russia and coached for the Skating Club of Boston. Their son, Maxim, a competitive skater himself, was in Kansas but did not board the ill-fated flight. The couple's Olympic achievements and subsequent dedication to coaching touched countless lives within the figure skating community.

The collision claimed the lives of all those on board both aircraft, including 14 skaters, coaches, and family members on the American Airlines flight, and three soldiers on the helicopter training exercise. The figure skating world continues to grapple with the immense loss, remembering the talent, dedication, and passion of those who perished.