A US figure skater shared an image to social media photo from the American Airlines plane shortly before it crashed in Washington DC.
Spencer Lane, 26, posted the image showing the jet taxiing on the runway at Wichita Airport in Kansas before the flight tragically crashed with a Blackhawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport.
It is believed that other members of the figure skating team were also onboard the plane.
Russian skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are also reported to have been on the plane before it took off.
Spencer Lane shared an image of the plane’s wing on the runway on Instagram and his post was captioned using the codes for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.”: ‘ICT -> DCA.’
The horror crash has led to a massive search operation and already 30 bodies are believed to have been recovered.
There were 60 passengers and four crew members onboard the flight at the time of the incident. The helicopter is reported to have been carrying three army personnel.
Debris from the incident and human remains are reported to have washed up on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, according to CBS News.
Emergency crews initially battled through dark conditions in their hunt for survivors, with search lights illuminating the Potomac river. However, daylight is expected to make conditions much easier for the teams.
Washington DC’s fire and emergency medical services chief John Donnelly has confirmed the mission has changed from a rescue to recovery mission.
He said: “We don’t believe they’re any survivors from this accident and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.”
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