Rockville Teen Killed in Ohio Plane Crash

A Rockville teen and 2014 graduate of Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda died Monday night in a small plane crash in Willoughby Hills, Ohio.

NBC Washington reports that Abraham Pishevar II, 18, a freshman student at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and three other college students were killed about 10 p.m. Their plane, a 1999 Cessna Model 172R, crashed shortly after taking off from the Cuyahoga County Airport, authorities said.

The 20-year-old pilot and the three passengers were all pronounced dead at the scene. According to Case Western Reserve officials, the plane caught fire as a result of the crash.

Georgetown Preparatory School posted an in memoriam notice for Pishevar on its website that asks the community to pray for Pishevar and his family.

“Abraham embodied the Georgetown Prep mission,” the school announcement said. “He was a dedicated and enthusiastic student and key contributor on both the varsity football and wrestling teams. Abraham joined members of the class of 2014 on a senior service trip to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, last summer. He was truly a man for others.”

Case Western Reserve University says on its website that Pishevar was a member of the school’s varsity wrestling team.

“We are truly heartbroken about these promising lives cut short,” President Barbara R. Snyder said in a statement, “and feel profound sympathy for their loved ones and friends.”

NBC’s affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, WKYC reported that the plane had trouble gaining altitude after takeoff. The plane was circling back to the airport when it lost all power and crashed.

The National Transportation Safety Board has investigators at the site of the crash to begin the work of determining a cause of the crash.

»Abraham Pishevar II of Rockville was one of four college students killed in an Ohio plane crash Monday night. Credit: Screenshot from WYKC TV in Cleveland