Israel's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that three Israelis were killed when a small plane crashed near Washington, D.C. U.S. reports said the aircraft went down in a wooded area of Bowie, Maryland, less than 30 kilometers from the U.S. capital.
Rescue crews were dispatched after an iPhone crash alert was received from one of the passengers. Wreckage was found before dawn near a residential neighborhood, and the three people aboard, a pilot and two passengers, were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to local reports, the plane was a Piper PA 28. It had taken off from Ocean City, New Jersey, and was headed to Montgomery County, Maryland. U.S. officials believe it may have been a training flight.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into what caused the crash.