Four Israelis, including a grandfather and three teenage grandchildren visiting from Israel, were killed in Michigan Tuesday when their small Beechcraft plane crashed. The only survivor is a 13-year-old grandson who apparently fell out of the aircraft and is listed in critical condition with severe burns.
The Michigan UpNorthLive news site reported that the crash occurred around 5 p.m. Tuesday after their twin-engine Beachcraft took off from a local airport. The pilot lost control, apparently due to a technical failure, and the light aircraft dived on to an Interstate highway, hitting the median, overturning and bursting into flames.
Mackinac County Sheriff Tim Ahlborn told UpNorthLive, “Very tragic situation. People coming up north; not sure if they were visiting or not, but it ended in a tragedy."
The grandfather, a resident of Skokie, Illinois, near Chiago, was identified as Moshe Menorah. He is survived by his wife, one son and two daughters. The dead grandchildren, residents of the area of Beit Shemesh southwest of Jerusalem, were identified as Sara and Rickie, age 17, and Racheli, age 15.
The surviving grandson is Netanel Yosef ben Simcha Sima.