Three Israeli citizens were killed over the weekend when a single-engine light aircraft crashed in a wooded area near Bowie, Maryland. Israeli authorities confirmed the deaths after U.S. media reports, while investigators continued to examine how the accident happened.
NBC, citing Prince George’s County Homeland Security communications, said the crash was first detected on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. after an automatic emergency alert was sent from an iPhone. The wreckage was not located until early Sunday morning, after an overnight search by emergency crews.
According to police, the plane had been flying from Ocean City, New Jersey, to Montgomery County, Maryland. The debris was found behind a residential complex and next to a playground. Police said the aircraft was likely being used for a training flight by a local flying school.
The Baltimore Sun identified the aircraft as a Piper PA-28, a model widely used as a training plane in the United States. Emergency crews pronounced dead the pilot and the two passengers on board. Their identities have not yet been released, and the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.