Three Israelis were killed when a light aircraft crashed about 30 kilometers east of Washington, D.C., late Sunday night. The pilot and two passengers died, and there were no survivors.
Maryland State Police are investigating the cause of the crash, which remains unknown. Based on the available evidence, investigators believe the plane departed from Ocean City, New Jersey, and was headed to Montgomery County, Maryland.
Emergency services received the first report of the crash through an iPhone alert shortly before midnight. Search efforts continued until 3:45 a.m., and wreckage was later found in a wooded area behind a residential neighborhood.
Authorities said the aircraft was reportedly connected to a local flight school and had been operating as a training flight. Maryland police media officer Eleanor Russo said, “It was dark, without lights. The investigation will examine whether it made sense to send out flights like this at night.” She added, “At this stage, we do not know what happened between New Jersey and Maryland. We have no eyewitnesses or any other evidence of the incident.”