UPDATE
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 out of Wichita on a Delta flight headed to Atlanta.
Maravilla says he’s devastated by the loss of his fellow skaters … “I was just with them watching them have lots of fun and just enjoying their time.”
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.
