Three men boarded a small plane at Ocean City Municipal Airport on Saturday, expecting to arrive in Maryland before midnight. Instead, the flight ended in a wooded park, leaving investigators searching for answers and families grieving an unimaginable loss.
According to Maryland State Police, the single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee went down around 11:30 p.m. near Archer Park in Bowie, Maryland, a residential community about 20 miles east of Washington, D.C. The aircraft had taken off from Ocean City and was headed to Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The victims were identified Monday as pilot Yoav Bomrind, 26, of Israel, and passengers David Rabinovich, 19, of Israel, and Elad Neidik, 20, of Canada.
All three men were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not released additional information about why they were traveling from South Jersey or the nature of their trip.
Emergency crews were first alerted to the crash by an automated iPhone crash detection notification shortly before midnight. Multiple agencies launched a ground and aerial search before locating the wreckage in a wooded section of the park around 3:45 a.m. Sunday.
Despite the aircraft coming down near homes and a neighborhood playground, no one on the ground was injured.
Investigators believe the flight may have been a training exercise. The aircraft reportedly belonged to a Montgomery County-based flight school, though officials have not confirmed what caused it to go down.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are leading the investigation, a process that could take months to complete.
The aircraft’s final journey began at Ocean City Municipal Airport, a general aviation hub that serves recreational pilots, flight schools and even visitors to the Jersey Shore on occasion. The airport regularly accommodates small private aircraft traveling throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Although several high-profile aviation accidents across the country have heightened public concern in recent years, experts say plane crashes remain exceedingly rare.
Federal investigators have not indicated that there were any issues related to the New Jersey airport or the aircraft’s departure. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The crash is also a reminder of the important role small airports play in South Jersey’s transportation network. Ocean City Municipal Airport, which sits just minutes from the beach and boardwalk, serves as a gateway for private pilots, flight training and recreational aviation throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
On any given summer day, small aircraft arrive and depart from the airport, carrying vacationers, business travelers and flight students.
Aviation experts note that while crashes involving private planes often garner significant attention, millions of general aviation flights take place safely across the United States each year.
Sarah Fertsch of Egg Harbor Township holds a Bachelors of Arts in Public Relations. She is a locally renowned poet, storyteller, and dog lover.
