3 Men Dead After Small Plane Crashes Into Wooded Area of Maryland

The pilot has been identified as Yoav Bomrind, 26, of Israel. The two passengers were David Rabinovich, 19, of Israel, and Elad Naidik, 20, of Canada.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 6/22/2026, 11:44:40 PM EDT

3 Men Dead After Small Plane Crashes Into Wooded Area of Maryland — A Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee in a file photo. (Shutterstock)

Three men died late Saturday night when a single-engine plane crashed into a wooded area in Bowie, Maryland, in close proximity to a residential area, authorities said.

The pilot has been identified as Yoav Bomrind, 26, of Israel, according to the Maryland State Police. The two passengers were David Rabinovich, 19, of Israel, and Elad Naidik, 20, of Canada, police said in an update Monday. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

The aircraft—a Piper Cherokee—had taken off from Ocean City, New Jersey, and was headed to Montgomery County Air Park when it went down at around 11:30 p.m.

The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Investigators believe the plane was owned by a local Montgomery County flight school and may have been on a training flight at the time.

A broader multi-agency search was launched after Prince George's County Public Safety Communications received an iPhone crash alert around 11:45 p.m., indicating a crash near the intersection of Route 50 and 301. Responders from the Prince George's County Fire Department, Maryland State Police, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Prince George's County Police Department and Bowie City Police Department all took part in the ground and aerial search.

The wreckage was found around 3:45 a.m. Sunday in a wooded area near Scarlett Oak Court, not far from a residential community. Forensic analysts from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division processed the scene for evidence.

For the people who live nearby, the night was one of confusion and quiet terror.

Resident Vaughn Mackall said he was stunned by what happened "right in my backyard." "I guess the trees kind of stopped the impact from hitting the back of our townhouses, and I want to thank God for that, that it didn't hit our townhouse or catch on fire," he told NBC4 Washington.

Neighbor Shuntonya Clark said the impact rattled the night. "I heard a loud boom and I thought it was like a storm passing through. And then it stopped, so it lasted about seven seconds and then there was silence," she told the station. "I wish I had known because I would have called 911, but I didn't think it was a crash of any nature or anything like that because I never heard anything else."

Another neighbor, Cindy Cobham, had a similar reaction. "It sounded like lightning and thunder," she said. "There was nothing indicating something like that had happened."

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the ongoing investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement confirming the crash.