Three Israeli nationals killed in crash after small plane plummets into Maryland woods

Published: 16:21, 21 June 2026 | Updated: 16:29, 21 June 2026 Three Israeli citizens were identified as victims of a deadly plane crash in the woods of Maryland. Officials said a single-engine plane headed to Montgomery County from Ocean City, New Jersey, crashed in a wooded area in Bowie just before 12am on Saturday - just 20 miles east of Washington DC. Authorities believe only a pilot and two passengers were onboard and were identified as Israeli nationals, according to Israeli media outlet Channel 14. Their identities have not been released. Investigators have not determined the cause of the crash but believe that the plane belonged to a Montgomery County flight school and was being used for a training flight. Officials said they were alerted to the incident by an automatic crash notification from an iPhone, prompting authorities to launch an extensive search across the area. Law enforcement, fire, and rescue teams finally discovered the crash site around 3.45am behind a residential complex and playground on Scarlet Oak Terrace, said officials. The debris field of the Piper PA-28 airplane stretched 100 feet, officials say. The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. Elena Russo, Director of Media Relations for the Maryland State Police, said a single-engine plane headed to Montgomery County from Ocean City, New Jersey, crashed in a wooded area in Bowie just before 12am on Saturday killing all three Israeli citizens onboard, according to Israeli media outlet Channel 14 Stock Image of a Piper PA-28 airplane  Recently, a person was killed when a small passenger plane caught fire and crash-landed along a major Texas highway. On Tuesday, six passengers were onboard the Cessna Citation Latitude twin jet when it came hurtling down on Texas State Highway Loop 20 at around 10pm, according to Jose Baeza, an investigator with the Laredo Police Department. Authorities are now looking into what may have caused the small plane to crash, hours after it departed from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico at 6.19pm. It was on its way to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport when it crashed. One person was killed in the collision, and five officers were rushed to the hospital for smoke inhalation in the aftermath. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. 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.