Three Israelis Killed in Light Plane Crash in Maryland

A light aircraft carrying three Israelis crashed in Maryland on its way from New Jersey to Washington, D.C., killing all three people on board. The dead are Yoav Boomerind, Elad Niedik, and David Rabinovich. According to the report, Yoav and David will be buried in Israel, while Elad will be buried in Toronto, Canada.

The plane, a Piper PA-28 single-engine aircraft, belonged to the WIFA flight school in New Jersey, where the Israelis had been training. It went down less than 20 miles east of Washington, D.C., in Montgomery County, a suburban area near the U.S. capital.

Images from the scene showed wreckage scattered near a playground, and part of a wing landed in the backyard of a nearby home. ZAKA said the three victims were found inside the plane in the early morning hours, already dead.

Hours before the crash, Yoav posted on Instagram about his friend Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari, who fell in Lebanon. He wrote, “Unbelievable, we grew up together,” followed by a broken-heart emoji. The Foreign Ministry said Israel’s consul in Washington and its department for Israelis abroad are assisting the families and coordinating with U.S. authorities.