Boruch Taub and Binyamin Chafetz: Ohio men flying to funeral ‘lost engines’ moments before fatal crash
CLEVELAND, OHIO: Two men were killed on their way to a funeral when the plane they were traveling in crashed in New York. In a heartbreaking farewell text message, the men told their friends that their plane had "lost their engines."
Jewish news outlet Belaaz News confirmed Boruch Taub and Binyamin 'Ben' Chafetz, both from Cleveland, died on Thursday night after their single-engine plane crashed in Westchester County due to technical difficulties at around 5.25 pm.
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Who were Boruch Taub and Binyamin Chafetz?
Taub, the proprietor of MasterWorks Automotive & Transmission, was the pilot of the Beechcraft Bonanza A36, and Chafetz, an entrepreneur in the field of technology, had been the sole passenger in the aircraft. In his final moments, it appears Chafetz wrote a text message to a friend's WhatsApp, expressing his love for his family and asking for prayers.
"I love you and the kids," he said in the text message that was later posted on Twitter. "I am sorry for everything I have done. Aay rehillim. We lost engines. Call and have the community say [Tehillim]." Tehillim is the Hebrew term for the Book of Psalms.
The plane took off from JFK and was headed to a smaller airfield in Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. Around 5.30 pm, when the pilot reported engine trouble, communication with the pilot was severed by air traffic control at Westchester County Airport. According to the FAA, they were about a mile away from the airport when the incident occurred. Then, a few minutes later, an emergency was apparently declared after Taub called to report low oil pressure.
Mobile command posts were set up outside the airport and in many other surrounding streets by first responders. Crews searched surrounding woodland areas on foot, and according to News 12, dive teams and boats were also dispatched to investigate nearby bodies of water.
However, search efforts were reportedly hampered by poor visibility due to persistent rain, thunder, and lightning. The Kensico Reservoir and the Rye Lake are bordered on two sides of the area.