Figure skater issues shock statement over claims he was denied boarding on doomed flight because his dog was too big
A young American figure skater cleared up rumors that he was spared from the American Airlines flight disaster after reports emerged that he was barred from boarding the doomed flight because his dog was too big.
Jon Maravilla told the Daily Beast that he was actually planning to board a Delta Airlines from Wichita to Atlanta – not the fateful flight to Washington DC – when he was turned away due to his dog.
Russian media outlet RIA Novosti originally reported that Maravilla was set to be among the passengers on board Flight 5342, which plunged into the Potomac River after the midair collision with a Black Hawk helicopter shortly before 9pm ET Wednesday.
The figure skater told the Daily Beast that he wasn’t sure where the original report came from. He explained that he was taking a flight to Atlanta before connecting there on a flight to Detroit.
Maravilla posted about the ordeal on his Instagram story Wednesday, writing: ‘Not allowed past gate to board flight. Get me tf out of Kansas please.’
In a follow-up post at 12:23 from the road, he wrote: ’14-hour journey begins.’
Maravilla told the Daily Beast that he ‘still can’t believe’ the news of the crash.
‘I was just with them watching them have lots of fun and just enjoying their time,’ he said.
A large number of skaters had been in the Wichita area for the US Figure Skating Championships, which were held last week at the city’s Intrust Bank Arena.
American figure skater Jon Maravilla was set to be among the passengers on board Flight 5342, which plunged into Washington DC’s Potomac River after the mid-air collision with a Black Hawk helicopter shortly before 9pm ET Wednesday
Maravilla posted about the ordeal on his Instagram story Wednesday, writing: ‘Not allowed past gate to board flight. Get me tf out of Kansas please.’ In a follow-up post at 12:23 from the road, he wrote: ’14-hour journey begins’
Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport captured the moment the plane and helicopter collided in mid-air
The sport’s national governing body, US Figure Skating, confirmed that ‘several members of our skating community’ were on the flight.
‘These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,’ they said in a statement.
‘We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.’
Among the figure skaters on board the flight were married Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova, 53, and Vadim Naumov, 56.
The couple won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994.
All 60 passengers and four crew member aboard the flight, as well as three people on the helicopter, are believed to be dead.
‘Unfortunately we were not able to rescue anyone,’ said Jack Potter, Chief Executive of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Emergency response teams are seen at the scene of the crash in the Potomac River
A US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was the other aircraft involved in the collision
Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are reported to have been on board the American Airlines plane that crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter
ransportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the crash ‘preventable.’
‘I would say that the helicopter was aware that the plane was in the area,’ Duffy said.
‘We are going to wait for all the information to come in from this vantage point, but… what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.’
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom appeared to blame the Black Hawk pilot for being in the wrong place.
‘At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,’ he said.
PSA Airlines is a regional subsidiary of AA that flies small planes on lesser-used routes.
