Crash in Washington: skater Jon Maravilla escapes tragedy thanks to his dog... Too big to board

American skater Jon Maravilla (19) avoided boarding the plane that crashed Wednesday evening in Washington after colliding with a military helicopter. He chose to make the trip by car after being denied boarding due to his dog's excessive weight.

How Jon Maravilla’s skater dog became an unlikely lifesaver

His dog saved his life just four days before his 20th birthday. Jon Maravilla, a young skater from the U.S. skating team, was supposed to be on the American Airlines flight that crashed in Washington after colliding with a U.S. Army helicopter. He didn’t board flight AA5342, unlike his teammates returning from a training camp in Kansas, because he was denied access to the plane due to his dog’s weight. Faced with this refusal, the skater decided to make the journey by car.

"I’m not allowed to pass through the boarding gate to get on the flight. Please get me out of Kansas," the American wrote in an Instagram story before the tragedy, adding, "Here we go, 14 hours of travel." Jon Maravilla, a student from West Bloomfield, Michigan, thus escaped the disaster thanks to his dog.

"About 14 skaters, not counting parents and coaches"

"It’s a tragedy," he told The New York Times. Maravilla, who often skates in pairs with Saya Carpenter (15) in national and international competitions, chose not to disclose the names of those on the plane. He simply stated that there were "about 14 skaters, not counting parents and coaches."

Sixty-four people, including four crew members, were on board the plane. Among the passengers were Russian figure skating pair Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, world champions in 1994, according to Russian news agencies on Thursday. The circumstances of the crash remain unclear, and U.S. authorities have not yet provided an official report. Around twenty bodies have been recovered, according to U.S. television networks.

The plane had departed from Wichita, Kansas, and was scheduled to land in Washington at 9:00 PM local time. A U.S. figure skating competition had been held in Wichita until January 26, according to the U.S. skating federation’s website. According to CNN, Wednesday’s accident is the deadliest aviation disaster in the United States since November 12, 2001, two months after the World Trade Center attacks, when an American Airlines flight crashed in New York, killing all 260 people on board.