Figure skater Maxim Naumov reveals mom’s final words before D.C. plane crash

The 23-year-old figure skater said that his parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were initially scheduled to board a different plane.

Figure skater Maxim Naumov is speaking out for the first time following the devastating death of his parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were victims of the D.C. plane crash, after an American Airlines jet and an army helicopter collided.

Shishkova and Naumov, Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions, were aboard the American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 people that crashed mid-air with an army Black Hawk helicopter and plunged into the Potomac River in Washington on Jan. 29.

In an interview with the Today Show, Naumov told host Craig Melvin that his parents were initially scheduled to board a different plane.

“My mom let me know that they were switching flights and if I could pick them up,” Naumov said.

Naumov recalled how he first learned that his parents were aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed, saying, “My mom always texts me and calls me as soon as they land.”

The 23-year-old figure skater also shared his parents’ final words to him, which were full of love and support. He spoke about their last Instagram post, calling their son’s national championship performance “beautiful” and sharing how proud they were.

“It was actually the last thing that they said,” Naumov revealed. “It was actually my mom that called me, and she said, ‘Hey, I just want you to know that we love you and we’re proud of you.’

“It means everything to me. I mean, my whole life, a part of it was to make them proud.”