MANHATTAN — Two managing directors from Greenhill & Co., a Manhattan investment bank, were killed in a small-plane crash Tuesday on Interstate 287 in New Jersey, the company said.
Jeffrey F. Buckalew and Rakesh Chawla were killed in the accident. Buckalew's wife Corinne, their two children, Jackson and Meriwether, also died on the plane, Greenhill & Co. said.
All five people and a dog were killed on the plane, which was reportedly registered to Buckalew, of the Upper East Side. No one was hurt on the ground, according to reports.
"The firm is in deep mourning over the tragic and untimely death of two of its esteemed colleagues and members of Jeff’s family," Chairman Robert Greenhill and Chief Executive Officer Scott Bok said in the statement. "Jeff was one of the first employees of Greenhill. He and Rakesh were extraordinary professionals who were highly respected by colleagues and clients alike."
A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the single-engine plane, a Socata TBM-700, left Teterboro Airport at 9:51 a.m. en route to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport near Atlanta, according to the New York Times. An air-traffic control center on Long Island lost radio and radar contact with the plane after the pilot asked to go to a higher altitude roughly 30 miles from Teterboro.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board told reporters that the pilot and controller had discussed icing conditions, but that it was not clear whether the pilot was asking about icy areas or reportng he was facing icy conditions, the Times said.
The NTSB said the investiagion will likely take 6-12 months, reports said.
The wreckage was found scattered over at least a half-mile-wide area, according to the Associated Press.
Buckalew, 45, was an experienced and passionate pilot, his company said. Before joining Greenhill in 1996, where he was head of North American Advisory activities, Buckalew worked at Salomon Brothers and Chemical Bank.
Chawla, 36, joined Greenhill in 2003 from the Blackstone Group.
