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.
![[Pair figure skaters on the ice.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/Screen-Shot-2025-01-30-at-9.44.40-AM.png?strip=all&w=960)
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.". 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.
![[Plane wreckage in the Potomac River with rescue boats.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/part-wreckage-seen-rescue-boats-967832755_02f239.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It comes as... 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. 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.
![[Illustration of a plane crash timeline showing the events leading up to and including the collision of an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/image_5f899e.png?strip=all&w=620)
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.
![[Jon Maravilla's Instagram story showing the start of his 14-hour drive.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/us-figure-skater-jon-maravilla-967855966.jpg?strip=all&w=274)
