No, U.S. skater Jon Maravilla wasn’t kept from boarding plane that collided with Army helicopter

American figure skaters, coaches and family members were aboard the American Airlines flight that collided Jan. 29 with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington D.C.

They were returning from an event in Wichita, Kansas, U.S. Figure Skating said in a Jan. 30 statement.

Some social media posts have claimed that one American skater, Jon Maravilla, would have been on that flight were it not for a problem with his pet.

“U.S. figure skater Jon Maravilla was reportedly prevented from boarding a doomed flight to Washington, D.C., due to issues related to his dog,” a Jan. 30 Threads post said. “Maravilla’s unexpected exclusion from the flight ultimately saved him, highlighting a twist of fate that spared the athlete from disaster.”

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Maravilla was in Kansas when a gate agent wouldn’t let him board because his dog was too big, the Daily Beast reported, but he was bound for Detroit via Atlanta — not Washington D.C.

After multiple news organizations, including the Daily Beast, wrongly reported that Maravilla missed the American Airlines flight that crashed with the Army helicopter, he posted on Instagram that “these stories are not true.” 

“I was not supposed to be on the dc flight,” Maravilla said in an Instagram story. “My heart goes out to the victims and I cannot believe this is real. I am still in shock.”

We rate claims Maravilla was prevented from boarding the deadly flight False.