U.S. figure skater Jon Maravilla could not board the fatal American Airlines flight that collided with a helicopter Wednesday night in Washington, D.C. since his dog was too large to be carried onto the flight, according to a Daily Beast report citing Russian state media.
Maravailla, who is a senior at West Bloomfield High School in Michigan according to the school’s athletics page, reportedly instead opted to drive from Wichita, Kan.
He told a Russian state news agency there were “about 14 figure skaters on the plane, not counting their parents and coaches,” according to the New York Times.
There are no expected survivors from the crash, with the plane carrying 60 passengers and four flight members and the helicopter having three people onboard.
“Such a tragedy,” Maravilla told the Russian outlet, as transcribed by the New York Times.
Maravilla, a 2025 U.S junior pairs bronze medalist alongside partner Saya Carpenter, provided details on his journey on his protected Instagram account, as seen in captured images.
He posted to his Instagram Story a photo inside an airport — believed to be Wichita Eisenhower Airport in Kansas, from where the flight originated — with the caption “Not allowed past gate to board flight,” along with five facepalm emojis, followed by “get me tf out of Kansas please.”
Maravilla did not mention the dog in said Story.
He later posted a photo of a road with the caption “14 hour journey begins” that showed the time of 12:23.
The American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita to Ronald Raegan Washington National Airport contained several U.S. figure skaters and coaches following the National Development Camp at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita from Jan. 20-26.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the American Airlines jet’s collision with a military helicopter in DC
The husband-wife world championship tandem of Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were also on the plane.
The plane and helicopter collided around 9 p.m., with debris falling into the Potomac River below in what is expected to be the United States’ deadliest plane crash in 15 years.
“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,” US Figure Skating said in a statement.
