Mystery as three young men are killed in small-engine plane crashes near park in Maryland

By NIC WHITE, US SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER Published: 20:46, 22 June 2026 | Updated: 20:55, 22 June 2026 Three young men have been killed in a light plane crash that narrowly missed smashing into houses and a playground. The three Israeli citizens died instantly when the single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee went down in Bowie, Maryland, about 11.30pm on Saturday. David Rabinowitz, 19, from Haifa in Israel, Yoav Bomrind, 26, from Zichron Yaakov in Israel, and Elad Naidik, 20, from Toronto were found dead at the scene. Bomrind was flying the aircraft on a training flight from Ocean City, New Jersey, to  Montgomery County Air Park in Gaithersburg, Maryland, according to its flight plan. The plane belonged to a flight school based out of the Air Park, according to the Maryland State Police.  The cause of the crash is unknown and will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration. Alarms were first raised by an automated alert sent out by one of the victims' iPhone and it took four hours to find the wreckage in the woods. David Rabinowitz, 19, (left) from Haifa in Israel, Yoav Bomrind, 26, (center) from Zichron Yaakov in Israel, and Elad Naidik, 20, (right) from Toronto were killed in a light plane crash on Saturday The three Israeli citizens died instantly when the single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee went down in Bowie, Maryland (wreckage pictured) Alarms were first raised by an automated alert sent out by one of the victims' iPhone and it took four hours to find the wreckage in the woods Residents on Scarlet Oak Court awoke to find the plane had barely missed their homes and a nearby playground. Kirby Mackall posted photos of wreckage from the plane lying just several feet from her door the next morning. The debris field covered 100ft. 'Woke up to a plane crash in our backyard! God is good, it could have hit our home how close it was,' she said. '[We] heard the crash but didn’t think it was [anything] like that.' Bomrind was adopted from Ukraine at just one year old and was in the US trying to fulfil his dream of becoming a professional pilot. His father Shalom said he was a skilled soccer player, with his father posting dozens of photos of him playing for local clubs, amateur pilot, and volunteer policeman. 'He was a beautiful, smart young man and the best son parents could ask for,' Shalom told Israeli media.  Bomrind was adopted from Ukraine at just one year old and was in the US trying to fulfil his dream of becoming a professional pilot Bomrind's father Shalom (pictured together) said he was a skilled soccer player, with his father posting dozens of photos of him playing for local clubs, amateur pilot, and volunteer policeman Bomrind is survived by his parents and sister Inbar, 21, who is an officer in the Israeli army. Hours before his death, he posted a tribute to his friend, Sergeant First Class Nir Ben Ari, who was killed in action in Lebanon. 'Unbelievable, we grew up together,' he wrote.  Naidik worshipped at Chabad of Maple outside Toronto with his parents Oren and Niri, and which posted photos of his Bar Mitzvah in 2018. Other photos showed him helping to set up marquees for religious events. Why Rabinowitz and Naidik were in the US and on the flight with Bomrind is unclear.  Recovery of the bodies for burial was facilitated by ZAKA, an Israeli search and rescue organization, and volunteers from the Metsalchim charity. Naidik worshipped at Chabad of Maple outside Toronto, which posted photos of him helping to set up marquees for religious events Recovery of the bodies for burial was facilitated by ZAKA, an Israeli search and rescue organization 'For long hours, we worked with due respect for the deceased, collecting all the findings and treating the difficult scene,' Yanki Landau, head of ZAKA's US operations, said. Naidik will be buried in Toronto and the others repatriated to Israel for services.  The Israeli Consul in Washington and the Department for Israelis Abroad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was assisting the trio's families. The NTSB said investigators would review the plane’s maintenance history, weather conditions, air traffic communications, and the pilot’s flight records. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.