Tycoon killed in Boston plane crash after $88 million deal to buy Philadelphia papers
A co-owner of Philadelphia’s two major newspapers was one of seven people who died on Saturday night when a private jet ran off a runway at Hanscom Airfield near Boston and burst into flames killing everyone on board.
Lewis Katz... killed days after $88 million deal
Bill Marimow, the editor of one of the papers, The Philadelphia Inquirer, confirmed that one of its owners, Lewis Katz, 72, had died in the crash.
Katz, a former owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, and a business associate, Gerry Lenfest, had won a legal battle last Tuesday over the ownership of The Inquirer when they won an auction for the newspaper.
Katz and Lenfest agreed to pay $88 million for The Inquirer and its affiliated properties, which include The Philadelphia Daily News, the website Philly.com and a printing plant.
Katz and six other people were aboard a Gulfstream IV plane that was taking off around 9:40 p.m. Saturday headed to Atlantic City, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Bedford is about 20 miles northwest of Boston.
Marimow said, "Lewis Katz was an exceptional man, whose presence enriched the lives of everyone he came in contact with. He never forgot his friends or his roots, giving back generously to the city of Camden, Temple University, Dickinson College's law school, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and countless other organizations.
"He loved his family and his friends and they loved him back in return. We've lost a great friend."
Katz and Lenfest had vowed to fund in-depth journalism to return the Inquirer to its former glory and to retain its editor, Marimow.\\
"It's going to be a lot of hard work. We're not kidding ourselves. It's going to be an enormous undertaking," Katz said then, noting that advertising and circulation revenues had fallen for years. "Hopefully, [the Inquirer] will get fatter."
Lenfest, said on Sunday the $88mn deal would be delayed but would continue after the death of his partner. The deal was expected to close on 12 June.]
Lenfest said the company would lose Katz's expertise and creativity. But, he said, "the paper will continue because we both intended to put a new CEO in charge of the day-to-day operations."
He said he was pleased to announce that Drew Katz, Lewis's son, will replace his father on the board of our new company."
The names of the other victims were not immediately released. Federal, state and local agencies responded to the scene.
Emergency crews from Bedford and surrounding communities responding to calls for a plane crash found the jet in flames in a heavily wooded area, said John Guilfoil, a spokesman for the Bedford Police Department. The fire was quickly put out and a hazardous materials team was evaluating the scene, he said.
The F.A.A. and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Hanscom Field is part of a complex attached to the Hanscom Air Force Base and straddles 1,300 acres in Bedford, Concord, Lexington and Lincoln, according to the Massachusetts Port Authority. A civilian airport, it is used for corporate aviation, private pilots, flight schools, charters, commercial activity and light cargo. A news briefing was scheduled for 8 a.m. Sunday at the airport.