Anjingnya Kegedean, Atlet AS Lolos Kecelakaan Pesawat Tabrak Heli di Washington
Young Figure Skater Saved from Doomed American Airlines Flight because His Dog was too Big to Board
Editor : M. Achsan Atjo
Translator : Dhelia Gani
ATLET senam artistik muda Amerika Serikat [AS] lolos dari maut setelah pesawat komersial American Airlines [AA] bertabrakan dengan helikopter Angkatan Darat AS, setelah dilarang naik pesawat karena anjingnya terlalu besar untuk masuk kabin pesawat.
Atlet muda AS, Jon Maravilla dijadwalkan menjadi salah satu penumpang AA Penerbangan 5342, yang jatuh ke Sungai Potomac di Washington DC setelah tabrakan di udara dengan helikopter Black Hawk Rabu malam pukul sembilan waktu setempat.
Atlet senam artistik Jon Maravilla mengatakan kepada RIA Novosti bahwa setelah diberi tahu bahwa tidak dapat membawa anjingnya naik pesawat, dia memutuskan untuk naik mobil saja, seperti dilansir MailOnline.
Maravilla mengunggah tentang kejadian itu di Instagram story-nya Rabu, dengan menulis: ´Tidak diizinkan melewati gerbang untuk naik pesawat. Saya ingin segera meninggalkan Kansas.´
Dalam unggahan lanjutan pada pukul 12.23 saat di perjalanan dengan mobil, dia menulis: ´Perjalanan 14 jam dimulai.´
Atlet seluncur indah itu mengatakan kepada RIA Novosti bahwa setidaknya ada 14 atlet seluncur indah di dalam pesawat, berikut pelatih dan orang tua.
"Saya tidak ingin menyebut nama," katanya, menggambarkan insiden itu sebagai ´tragedi yang sangat tragis.´
Sejumlah besar atlet senam artistik berada di daerah Wichita untuk Kejuaraan Seluncur Indah AS, yang diadakan minggu lalu di Intrust Bank Arena di kota itu.
Badan pengelola nasional olahraga itu, US Figure Skating, mengonfirmasi bahwa ´beberapa anggota komunitas seluncur kami´ berada di dalam pesawat itu.
´Para atlet, pelatih, dan anggota keluarga kembali ke rumah dari Pusat Pelatihan Nasional [Pelatnas] yang diadakan bersamaan dengan Kejuaraan Seluncur Indah AS di Wichita, Kansas,´ kata US Figure Skating melalui pernyataan resminya.
"Kami sangat terpukul dengan tragedi yang tak terlukiskan ini dan mendoakan keluarga korban dengan sepenuh hati. Kami akan terus memantau situasi dan akan merilis informasi lebih lanjut segera setelah tersedia."
"Di antara para pesenam artistik yang ikut dalam penerbangan tersebut adalah peseluncur indah Rusia yang sudah menikah, Yevgenia Shishkova, 53 tahun, dan Vadim Naumov, 56 tahun."
Pasangan tersebut memenangkan kejuaraan dunia dalam cabang olahraga seluncur indah berpasangan pada 1994.
60 penumpang dan empat awak pesawat, serta tiga orang di helikopter, diyakini tewas.
"Sayangnya kami tidak dapat menyelamatkan siapa pun," kata Jack Potter, Kepala Eksekutif Otoritas Bandara Metropolitan Washington.
Pesawat tersebut bertabrakan dengan helikopter Black Hawk hanya 400 kaki di atas tanah saat pesawat mendekati Bandara Nasional Ronald Reagan Washington sesaat sebelum pukul 9 malam ET.
A YOUNG American figure skater was saved from the doomed American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter after he was barred from boarding the plane because his dog was too big.
Jon Maravilla was set to be among the passengers on board Flight 5342, which plunged into Washington DC´s Potomac River after the midair collision with a Black Hawk helicopter shortly before 9pm ET Wednesday.
The figure skater told RIA Novosti that after he was told he couldn´t bring his dog onboard, he decided to take a car instead.
Maravilla posted about the ordeal on his Instagram story Wednesday, writing: ´Not allowed past gate to board flight. Get me tf out of Kansas please.´
In a follow-up post at 12:23 from the road, he wrote: ´14-hour journey begins.´
The figure skater told RIA Novosti that there were at least 14 figure skaters on board the plane, as well as coaches and parents.
´I don´t want to name names,´ he said, describing the incident as ´such a tragedy.´
A large number of skaters had been in the Wichita area for the US Figure Skating Championships, which were held last week at the city´s Intrust Bank Arena.
The sport´s national governing body, US Figure Skating, confirmed that ´several members of our skating community´ were on the flight.
´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,´ they said in a statement.
´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.´
Among the figure skaters on board the flight were married Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova, 53, and Vadim Naumov, 56.
The couple won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994.
All 60 passengers and four crew member aboard the flight, as well as three people on the helicopter, are believed to be dead.
´Unfortunately we were not able to rescue anyone,´ said Jack Potter, Chief Executive of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
The plane collided with the Black Hawk helicopter just 400ft above the ground as the plane approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport shortly before 9pm ET.
