A private plane erupted into flames on Saturday night at a Massachusetts airfield killing all seven passengers on board, including Lewis Katz, an owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The cause of the crash of the Gulfstream IV jet has not yet been determined. The plane was scheduled to take off from Bedford’s Hanscom Field and was headed to Atlantic City. “Nearby residents recounted seeing a fireball and feeling the blast of the explosion shake their homes,” the Associated Press reports. “[One witness] Jeff Patterson told the Boston Globe he saw a fireball about 60 feet in the air and suspected the worst for those aboard the plane.”
Here’s more on Lewis Katz from the New York Times:
Just last week, Mr. Katz, 72, and H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest, another investor in The Inquirer, bought out their partners for $88 million, gaining control of the media company that owns that newspaper, The Philadelphia Daily News, the website Philly.com and a printing plant. Mr. Lenfest told Philly.com, the Inquirer’s website, that Mr. Katz’s son, Drew, would replace his father on the board of the new company. Mr. Katz made his fortune by investing in the Kinney Parking empire and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in New York, according to Philly.com. He is a former owner of the N.B.A.’s New Jersey Nets and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.
