Jan 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Figure Skating said on Thursday

that several skaters were on an American Airlines ( AAL ) regional

passenger plane that crashed near Reagan Washington National

Airport on Wednesday.

The plane, with 64 passengers and crew, was en route to

Washington, D.C., from Witchita, Kansas, when it was involved in

a mid-air collision with a U.S. Army helicopter.

U.S. Figure Skating, the governing body for figure skating

in the United States, said athletes, coaches and family members

were returning from the National Development Camp held in

conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in

Kansas.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the

victims' families closely in our hearts," it said in a

statement.

A source told Reuters that as many as 15 people on the

flight may have been involved in figure skating.

Officials have not said how many people died in the accident

but have suggested that there may be no survivors.

Russian state media meanwhile reported that ice skating

coaches and former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim

Naumov were among those on board the plane. Their son, Maxim,

also a skater, may also have been on the plane, Russia's TASS

and RIA news agencies reported.

Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater who competed for the

Soviet Union, was also reported to have been on board, TASS

said. She was a coach at the Washington figure skating club,

according to its website.