Figure skater clears up claims he was denied boarding on doomed flight
A young US figure skater has dispelled rumors that he avoided the American Airlines flight tragedy after claims suggested he was prevented from boarding the ill-fated flight because his dog was too large.
Jon Maravilla informed the Daily Beast that he actually planned to take a Delta Airlines flight from Wichita to Atlanta - not the fatal journey to Washington DC - when he was rejected due to his dog. Russian news source RIA Novosti initially stated that Maravilla was supposed to be among travelers on Flight 5342, which crashed into the Potomac River following a midair collision with a Black Hawk helicopter just before 9pm ET Wednesday.
The figure skater told the Daily Beast he did not know the origin of the initial report. He clarified that he was flying to Atlanta before connecting to Detroit. Maravilla shared his experience on his Instagram story Wednesday, stating: "Not allowed past gate to board flight. Get me tf out of Kansas please." In a later update at 12:23 from the road, he added: "14-hour journey begins."
Maravilla expressed to 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.
Many skaters had gathered in the Wichita area for the US Figure Skating Championships, held last week at the city's Intrust Bank Arena.
The sport's national governing body, US Figure Skating, verified 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 explained 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."
Russian figure skating pair Yevgenia Shishkova, 53, and Vadim Naumov, 56, were among those on board the flight. The husband and wife won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994.
All 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight, plus three people on the helicopter, are believed dead.
'Unfortunately we were not able to rescue anyone,' stated Jack Potter, Chief Executive of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The aircraft struck the Black Hawk helicopter merely 400ft above the ground as the plane approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport just before 9pm ET.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy labeled the crash 'preventable.' 'I would say that the helicopter was aware that the plane was in the area,' Duffy remarked. '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 seemed to attribute blame to the Black Hawk pilot for being in an incorrect position. 'At this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,' he commented. PSA Airlines operates as a regional branch of AA that utilizes smaller planes on less-traveled routes.
