Officials say that one of the two people who died when a plane had mechanical problems and crashed in New York on Thursday night reached out to loved ones before he died. Pilot Boruch Taub and passenger Binyamin “Ben” Chafetz both died when their plane took off from JFK International Airport and crashed while trying to make an emergency landing near Westchester Airport north of New York City.
After takeoff, the single-engine Beechcraft that was going to Cuyahoga County Airport near Cleveland, Ohio, broke down. The pilot told air traffic control that the plane had a “dead cylinder” and oil pressure was dropping. “The pilot knew he only had a few minutes to try to land the plane safely, but he couldn’t do it,” said Westchester County Executive George Latimer at a news conference.
As the plane struggled to stay in the air, Chafetz sent text messages to his family, telling them how much he loved them and asking them to pray. Lattimer said that Chafetz talked to his wife during the last few minutes of the flight and told her “goodbye.” Latimer says that Taub and Chafetz are part of an orthodox Jewish community in Ohio. Rabbi Nissim Abrin of Bais Avrohom told WEWS that he has been comforting his community after the terrible loss.
“I think those messages really showed what was most important to him, which was his love for his family,” Abrin said. “We lost two of our best: amazing husbands, fathers, friends, people, pillars of our community, people who would drop whatever they were doing to help someone else at any time,” he said.
You might also think about-
- Plane Crash Venice Florida: Child Found Dead in Plane That Crashed Into Ocean Near Venice
- Peru Airport Accident: Two Firefighters Were Killed When Their Plane Crashed During Takeoff
There Was a Problem With the Flight After Take Off
Audio of the incident from LiveATC.net shows that the pilot and air traffic control talked quickly about problems on the plane before it crashed. “We will call a state of emergency. “Our oil pressure is going down,” the pilot, Taub, can be heard telling the air controller.
When the controller asks Taub if he has engine power, the pilot says, “No, the engine is taking over.” A few seconds later, Taub says, “Mayday, mayday, mayday,” which is a call for help. As the controller tried to tell Taub how to land safely on a Westchester Airport runway, the pilot asked for more instructions. Taub said, “I can’t see anything from up here.”
The controller keeps showing the pilot how to get to the clear runway. The controller then says that radar contact has been lost, and the pilot stops talking. Officials later found the plane’s wreckage about a mile from Westchester Airport. This is what the Federal Aviation Administration has found so far.
Latimer said that the bodies were properly examined and sent to Ohio to be buried. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are looking into what happened.
Stay connected with lakecountyfloridanews.com for the Latest News Update.
