54-year-old granddaughter of former new York city mayor William Jay Gaynor was among six people killed in the crash of a small plane in Texas.
According to the Department of public safety Texas, Angela Webb, Kensinger was killed along with her husband, 55-year-old Stuart Robin Kissindzherom. Her great-grandfather was the 94th mayor of the Big Apple and held this position from 1910 to 1913. The woman was also a descendant of railroad and shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Her husband, Robin, Kensinger was Houston real estate investor and head of the Jerusalem peace organization is an interdenominational non-profit organization that seeks to unite Israelis, Palestinians and Americans.
Wife Angela Webb, Kensinger and Robin, Kensinger died in aviakatastrofe other passengers identified as mark Damien Shiono (58 years), architect Scott Reagan Miller (55) and landscape architect mark Tellepsen (45 years).
The tragedy occurred on Monday, April 22, at about 9 a.m., about 70 miles Northwest of San Antonio. All 6 people aboard were killed.
Twin-engine Beechcraft BE58 was registered to 65-year-old Jeffrey Weiss, investor and philanthropist from Houston, who was an experienced pilot. He was a volunteer with Angel Flight South Central, a nonprofit organization that provides free flights to sick people, as well as in the group of Pilot & Paws, which helps to transport animals.
Witnesses heard the aircraft’s engines stalled for a few minutes before the fall. 48-year-old construction worker Rodney Simmons heard the plane «struggling with the wind.»
«I looked and saw him fall, Simmons said. — The rear part of the plane was very low… Like it was a lot of weight or something like that».
According to Simmons, the plane flew South with the wind, then «lurched to the right, very strong, and just rolled over and fell nose to the ground.»
A spokesman for the Federal aviation administration (FAA) said the plane took off about 7:30 in the morning from the airport of West Houston, a private airfield near Katie, and had to land in Kerrville Municipal Airport at 8:35 am.
Robert hurt, a veteran pilot who lives in the area, heard about the accident on the radio and went to the scene to see if he could do something to help. At the moment it is not known why the plane crashed, but hurt argues that, if the plane was going to land in Kerrville, he deviated from the normal flight path.
«I don’t know why they were this far West,» said 65-year-old hurt to the journalists gathered at the command post.
