Three young men have been identified by police as the pilot and two passengers who were killed in a single-engine plane crash Saturday night in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Maryland State Police said Monday Yoav Bomrind, of Israel was piloting the plane when it crashed, killing the 26-year-old and his two passengers, David Rabinovitz, 19, also of Israel and Elad Naidik, 20, of Canada.
Police believe the men were on a training flight connected to the Washington International Flight Academy, based out of Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the agency leading the investigation, said it will examine the wreckage, review air traffic control communications and radar data, interview witnesses, and collect maintenance records for the aircraft, along with the pilot’s medical records and flight history.
‘Sounded like thunder’ Neighbors react to Bowie plane crash
Residents in Bowie, Maryland, were rattled when the plane crashed near their neighborhood at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night.
“I was just sitting down on the bed. We heard a loud boom, sounded like thunder, like a storm coming through, and then everything shook, and it stopped, and it lasted probably about seven seconds, and was complete silence after that,” said Shuntonya Clark, about the crash that happened near midnight on Saturday night.
The single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee was en route to Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg from Ocean City, New Jersey, when it crashed in a wooded area near a town home community and park off of Scarlet Oaks Terrace in Bowie.
Neighbor Vaughn Mackall told 鶹 that the sound “wasn’t like a big boom or bang, it was just like a bunch of trees kind of crackling and snapping, and we didn’t really pay no mind.”
Both awoke the next morning to find police tape lining the backyard and park behind their town homes and a visible part of the wing.
“The next morning, I was coming out to go to work… the police was just like we had a plane crash in the back, and I was like, what?” Mackall said. “I heard it, man, but I didn’t really pay no mind.”
Clark added, ”It was very scary to find out later that it was a plane. I’m very grateful that there was no explosion, no fire, because of all the trees. It could have taken everything that’s over here out.”
Multiple local agencies began a search for the plane after the report of the crash, which was located around 3:45 a.m.
鶹’s Dan Ronan previously reported that the Piper Cherokee is “frequently flown, very safe” and Saturday night was very clear and favorable for flying.
鶹’s Mike Murillo, Jeffery Leon and Jessica Kronzer contributed to this story.
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