Update, 11:10pm: The plane has been located. Sadly, local media is reporting that Ben and Boruch did not survive the crash. Baruch dayan ha’emes.
The original post can be found below.
2 members of Cleveland’s Jewish community flew to NY today to attend a funeral.
Boruch Taub, owner of MasterWorks Automotive & Transmission, was the pilot of the Beechcraft Bonanza a36, a single engine propeller plane. He is an experienced pilot and flies the plane often.
Ben Chafetz, a tech entrepreneur, was his only passenger on the flight.
The plane was returning from JFK to Cleveland’s regional Cuyahoga County Airport when it experienced engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic control at 5:20pm. At 5:25pm the pilot contacted Westchester County Airport directly for help. It crashed shortly thereafter.
Visibility at the Westchester County Airport is very poor tonight, with cloud ceilings of just 200 feet above the ground. LIFR or low instrument flight rules are in place there due to the poor conditions.
Ben apparently thought he was Whatsapping his wife, but wrote to the Bais Avrohom night seder group chat with a message for his wife and kids, that they “lost engines,” and to ask the community to say tehilim for them.
The FAA confirmed the crash with DansDeals, noting that the crash occurred about 1 mile from Westchester County Airport. The agency said they will publish a preliminary accident/incident report tomorrow.
The flight path can be seen here.
More than 5 hours after the crash, the plane has still not been located. Torrential rain, thunder, and lightning are hindering search efforts there.
Ben was on the infamous El Al flight #002 that spent Shabbos in Athens and was instrumental on helping me piece together a 4 part investigation on what happened:
- The Captain Of El Al’s Flight #002 Lied To And Tricked His Own Passengers
- Did El Al Invent Charedi Violence To Shift The Blame Away From The Airline’s Mistakes? A Timeline And The ATC Audio Where El Al Receives Permission To Return To The Gate!
- Looking Into The Positive Side Of The El Al Flight #002 Fiasco: An Inspirational Shabbos, Thanks To Chabad Of Athens
- Ben shared a trip report of his experience and takeaways in this post.
- El Al Settles, Then Cancels Settlement With Defamed Passengers Of Flight #002 Who Were Tricked Into Flying To Greece For Shabbos
Ben was also interviewed last year in the Ami Magazine, where he talks about losing many clients and friends in the 9/11 attacks and how it changed his life, you can read the full article here.
Ben and his wife Smadar have 7 kids, including one adopted child.
Obviously this hits home hard for me and many others. I have flown on small planes and I live just a block away from Ben. Boruch’s brother was in my elementary school class in Cleveland.
It will take a miracle for them to get home safely, so please pray for Boruch Taub and Ben Chafetz, ברוך יוסף יחזקאל בן שרח עשקה שרה and בנימין ריאל בן ברכה.