Mogul Among 7 Killed in Fiery Private Jet Crash

A Gulfstream IV bound for Atlantic City crashed in a small airfield near Boston as it was taking off late yesterday, killing all seven people aboard. "There were no survivors," a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority tells the AP. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people on board and their loved ones." Among the dead was Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz, editor Bill Marimow confirms. Katz, 72, had, with another mogul, bought out Inquirer partners for $88 million last week. He was also a former co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and the New Jersey Devils, as per the AP

The private jet was leaving Hanscom Air Force Base around 9:40pm when it apparently ran into the woods, notes CNN, crashing and erupting into a ball of flame. Witnesses report seeing a fireball that by one man's estimate reached 60 feet in the air. "I heard a big boom, and I thought at the time that someone was trying to break into my house because it shook it," says a 14-year-old who lives nearby. "I thought someone was like banging on the door trying to get in." The NTSB is investigating. (More plane crash stories.)