NEW YORK, Jan 30: A young American figure skater narrowly escaped tragedy when he was unable to board American Airlines Flight 5342, which later collided with an Army helicopter, crashing into Washington D.C.'s Potomac River. The collision occurred shortly before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, killing all 60 passengers and four crew members on board, as well as three people on the helicopter.

Jon Maravilla, a figure skater, had originally planned to be on the flight but was turned away because his dog was deemed too large to fly. After being told he couldn’t bring his pet aboard, Maravilla opted to travel by car instead.

"I was not allowed past the gate to board the flight. Get me tf out of Kansas, please," Maravilla wrote on his Instagram story Wednesday. Later, he updated followers with, "14-hour journey begins."

In a conversation with RIA Novosti, Maravilla mentioned that at least 14 other figure skaters were on the flight, along with their coaches and family members. "I don't want to name names," he said, describing the crash as "such a tragedy."

The group of skaters had been in Wichita, Kansas, for the US Figure Skating Championships, held at the Intrust Bank Arena. US Figure Skating confirmed that several members of the skating community were on the plane, including the married Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, both former world champions in pairs skating.

US Figure Skating issued a statement expressing their sorrow: "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. 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."

The crash occurred as the plane was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, colliding with the Black Hawk helicopter at an altitude of just 400 feet. Tragically, no survivors were found, despite rescue efforts. "Unfortunately, we were not able to rescue anyone," said Jack Potter, Chief Executive of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the crash as "preventable," adding, "I would say that the helicopter was aware that the plane was in the area."

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom echoed concerns over the military helicopter's location, saying, "At this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft."

PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American Airlines, operates smaller planes on less-trafficked routes. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.