Skater Maxim Naumov Who Lost Parents In D.C. Plane Crash Reveals Mom’s Final Words To Him

Maxim Naumov, the son of 1994 figure skating World Champions Evgenia “Zhenya” Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, is speaking out on the tragic passing of both his parents in the American Airlines D.C. plane crash. The 23-year-old sat down with Craig Melvin during the March 27 episode of the “Today” show for an emotional interview in which he shared heartbreaking details about the January tragedy, including that his parents had originally booked a different flight. “My mom let me know that they were switching flights and if I could pick them up. My mom always texts me and calls me as soon as they land,” he said. When asked by the NBC News anchor how it feels to read his parents’ last social media post praising his Nationals performance, the skater revealed it coincided with his mother’s final words to him. “It was actually the last thing that they said. It was actually my mom that called me. She was like, ‘Hey, I just want you to know that we love you and we’re proud of you.’ It means everything to me. My whole life, a part of it, was to make them proud.” On Jan. 29, a U.S. Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet, killing 67 people in total.