Two of those coaches were identified by the Kremlin as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

Two Russian figure skating coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who had strong Connecticut ties, were among those killed when an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday night.

"You have those feelings of dread when something like this happens," said Max Schmitter, who spent 32 years at the FAA as an aviation safety inspector.