ARMONK, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Two Ohio men were killed when the small plane they were on crashed in Westchester County Thursday evening, shortly after departing from JFK Airport in Queens, officials said.
The two victims, a pilot and passenger, were found dead just after 11 p.m. by the wreckage of a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza on a wooded peninsula at Rye Lake, near Westchester County Airport, according to local and federal officials.
The discovery followed a massive, after-dark search of the woods around the lake in the pouring rain and fog.
Their plane left JFK Airport just before 5 p.m. and was headed to Cuyahoga County Airport in Richmond Heights, Ohio, a regional airport east of Cleveland.
The aircraft reported low oil to Westchester Airport at 5:25 p.m. and planned to make an emergency landing, but contact was lost about 5 minutes later.
A search-and-rescue operation was launched just before 5:40 p.m. The search focused on an area off Cooley Hill Road in Armonk, about a mile or two from the county airport.
The men were discovered after hours of searching by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the NYPD.
New York City Department of Environmental Protection officers were also involved because the reservoir is part of the city's water system.
The men were identified Friday as Boruch Taub and Benjamin Chafetz, both from northeast Ohio. They were members of Cleveland’s close-knit Orthodox Jewish community.
Westchester officials expedited the release of their remains so religious custom of quick burial can be honored. They were already being flown to Ohio Friday so they can be buried before sunset.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
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