New Information About St. Ignace Plane Crash

ST. IGNACE, MI -- Investigators say it's too early to know what caused yesterday's deadly plane crash that killed four people.

A 13-year-old boy is the only survivor.

A National Transportation Safety Board Spokesperson tells 7&4 news the pilot was from Skokie, Illinois.

He and four of his grandchildren were flying back from a day trip to Mackinac Island when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff Tuesday afternoon.

The accident killed that man and his three teenage granddaughters.

His grandson is the only survivor.

He was burned badly and is in a downstate hospital Wednesday night.




The Mackinaw County Sheriff and a National Transportation Safety Board investigator released new information about the crash.

It's been a day since this twin engine Beachcraft Model 58 crashed. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were on scene collecting the data and doing the investigation trying to figure out exactly what happened.

Cameras were allowed closer to the wreckage Wednesday and these images show the crash that killed the pilot and three others on board. One of the engines of the twin-engine plane is 50 feet from the rest of the wreckage, and the median barrier that the plane hit has been marked. Debris is scattered everywhere, spray paint marks where pieces once were, and the tragedy is clear.

"Being here for over 23 years with the Sheriff's Office, you get to see various incidents, you hear about different types of accidents, this is the first I've heard that the community has been involved with so many resources and so many private citizens, who responded right away to the accident, to attempt to rescue the individuals," said Sheriff PIO Tim Ahlborn.

The Pilot has been identified as 73-year old Moshe Menora, from Skokie, Illinois. Three of his granddaughters who were visiting from Israel died in the crash.

16-year old Rikki Menora, 14-year old Rachel Menora, and 17-year old Sara Klein died. There was one lone survivor, 13-year old Yossi Menora.

A group of volunteers from New York and investigators collected remains of the four people killed to follow the Jewish law for burial.

"Whether it's blood or body parts to make sure the Jewish Tradition and Jewish Law of burying people in a timely fashion with every, all remains possible," said Zvi Gluck, of the CSE in New York.

As soon as they're done collecting, they'll ship the remains to Israel, where they'll be buried as soon as possible.

Yossi Menora, the 13 year old boy who survived the crash, was airlifted from the Mackinac County Airport to the University of Michigan Hospital. His status has been upgraded from critical to serious. His mother has flown in from Israel to be with her son.

Investigators say it could be six to nine months before they determine what caused the crash.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Moshe Menora
• Plane Crash
• Chicago
• Michigan
• St. Ignace airport
• Rikki Menora
• Racheli Menora
• Sara Klein
• Jewish

[Rockwellbabe2]

I wonder who put who fueled up the tank...