8:52 AM PT — Jon Maravilla was NOT supposed to be on board the American Airlines flight that collided with a military chopper, despite a report from Russian outlet RIA Novosti. Instead, the 19-year-old figure skater says he was scheduled to fly…
8:52 AM PT — Jon Maravilla was NOT supposed to be on board the American Airlines flight that collided with a military chopper, despite a report from Russian outlet RIA Novosti. Instead, the 19-year-old figure skater says he was scheduled to fly…
Figure Skater Jon Maravilla‘s life was spared because his dog was too big to board American Airlines flight 5342 … forcing the young athlete to drive himself back to Washington D.C.
Just several hours after Maravillawas turned away at the gate, the airplane collided with a military helicopter about half a mile short of the Reagan Airport runway, which authorities fear claimed the lives of everyone on board both aircraft.
Maravilla, a 19-year-old from the Detroit area, told a Russian news outlet that he was scheduled to be on flight 5342 … and confirmed that he lost several of his fellow athletes.
“I don’t want to name names,” Jon said, describing the accident as “such a tragedy.”
JM and the other skaters were in Wichita for the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championship … the Super Bowl for figure skating in America.
Maravilla began the day documenting his travel issues on his Instagram story, writing … “Not allowed past gate to board flight,” with five face-palm emojis.
He added … “Get me tf out of Kansas please”
About an hour later, Jon posted a photo on a highway, captioning the pic … “14 hour journey begins”
Obviously, Maravilla had no idea what would happen just several hours later.
As for the athletes who did board the flight, U.S. Figure Skating released a statement addressing the horrible turn of events.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families close in our hearts.”
According to officials, 60 passengers and 4 crew members were on board the plane, while three soldiers made up the U.S. Army Black Hawk crew.
All people are presumed to have died as a result of the crash.