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FATEFUL SWITCH
Young US figure skater saved at final moment from DC plane crash after he was turned away from flight at gate over dog
Officials are pulling more bodies from the water after the crash
A YOUNG figure skater has revealed how he barely dodged the disastrous American Airlines plane crash with a Black Hawk helicopter that killed 64.
Jon Maravilla, 19, was set to board the doomed flight after a skating competition, but his dog saved him from plunging into the Potomac River near Washington DC.
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On Wednesday afternoon, the skater shared live updates on his Instagram as he awaited the flight from Wichita, Kansas, to the US capital.
At one point, he shared a picture of the airport and wrote that he wasn't allowed past the gate.
"Get me tf out of Kansas please," he said.
Maravilla, who is from Michigan, later shared a picture of himself driving on the road and said, "14-hour journey begins."
read more on the crash
Speaking with the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Maravilla explained that he wasn't allowed to board the 5:18 pm ET flight because his dog was too big.
It comes as...
- All 64 passengers are feared dead
- At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the Potomac River
- CCTV captures moment of the crash
- Chilling audio reveals the final moments of flight
- World champion figure skaters believed to be on board
- Figure skater shared now-tragic picture inside the plane
- Another skater barely dodged the flight because of his dog
- Husband reveals wife's final text from doomed jet
- Rescue efforts hindered by freezing & dark conditions
Though the identities of victims haven't been confirmed, Maravilla claimed that 14 skaters, as well as parents and coaches, were on board the flight.
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He said he didn't want to "name names" and said the horrific crash was a "tragedy."
While Maravilla drove home from Witchita, dozens boarded Flight 5342, and the plane took off without a hitch.
Tragic pic by figure skater Spencer Lane inside doomed DC plane before it collided with helicopter 'killing 64 onboard'
As it approached the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport just before 9 pm, a US Army-operated Black Hawk on a training mission appeared to zoom right in its path.
The two aircraft then exploded in a deadly fireball, and the passenger plane shattered into three pieces and sank into the icy black waters of the Potomac.
If everyone is confirmed to be dead, this will be the deadliest US air crash in nearly 24 years.
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SKATING TRAGEDY
Athletes. family members and coaches were all in Wichita for the US Figure Skating Championship.
The competition ended on Sunday, but several top-tier skaters stayed for an elite training camp that was held in the days afterward.
Another young US skater, Spencer Lane, shared a now-devastating picture on Instagram from inside the plane.
He also spoke online about how grateful he was to have participated in the days of training.
World champion Russian skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shiskova, who now work as coaches, were also on the flight, according to Russian state media.
They appeared to coach Lane, who shared pictures of himself smiling with the couple after a competition in Pennsylvania.
DEVASTATING COLLISION
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and officials confirmed that flight conditions were clear Wednesday evening.
American Airlines CEO said the military aircraft "came into the flight path," but new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Army crew was "fairly experienced."
The ink-black night and frigid waters hindered rescue efforts, and the response quickly turned to a recovery mission.
Thursday's morning sun revealed little sign of the crash, as only a few pieces of wreckage stuck out of the eight-foot waters.
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