Philadelphia: The Phila-delphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz (pictured) was killed along with six other people in a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts, the newspaper’s editor said yesterday.
Bill Marimow confirmed Katz’s death to Philly.com, saying he learned the news from close associates. Family members said one of the other victims was the wife of a New Jersey borough commissioner. James P Leeds Sr told the Associated Press that his 74-year-old wife, Anne, died on Saturday night in the Massachusetts crash. Leeds said he got a text from his wife from the plane at 9.36pm, four minutes before the crash.
He said his wife had been invited by Katz to attend an education-related function. They left Longport at about 2pm. The Gulfstream IV crashed and caught fire as it was leaving Hanscom Field at about 9.40pm on Saturday for Atlantic City, New Jersey. There were no survivors.
The identities of the other victims were not immediately released. Nancy Phillips, Katz’s longtime companion and city editor at the Inquirer, was not on board. Officials gave no information on the cause of the crash. They said the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
The 72-year-old Katz was one of two business moguls who bought out their partners last week with an $88m bid for The Inquirer, which also operates the Philadelphia Daily News and the news website Philly.com.
Katz’s partner, Harold Lenfest, said that the $88mn deal would be delayed but would continue after the death of his partner. The deal was expected to close on June 12.
Nearby residents saw a fireball and felt the blast shake their homes. Jeff Patterson told the Boston Globe he saw a fireball about 60 feet high and suspected the worst. “I heard a big boom, and I thought at the time that someone was trying to break into my house because it shook it,” said Patterson’s son, 14-year-old Jared Patterson. “I thought someone was like banging on the door trying to get in.”
The Guardian
