Pa. plane crash kills 6 Rhode Islanders

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Six Rhode Islanders were killed yesterday when a single-engine plane crashed yesterday near a construction site where a new county prison is being built, authorities said.

The turboprop plane went down around 2 p.m. in Benner Township just outside Bellefonte, the Centre County seat, officials said.

Rhode Island attorney Carl Freedman said pilot Jeffrey Jacober, 51, of Providence, and Gregg Weingeroff, 49, were killed, along with four family members. He said both men were his clients and his personal friends.

''These were leaders of the business community, the philanthropic community, and the Jewish community in Rhode Island," said Freedman.

Also killed were Jacober's wife, Karen, 49, and their 15-year-old son, Eric, and Weingeroff's wife, Dawn, and their 10-year-old son, Leland, Freedman said. Both boys attended the Wheeler School, a private school in Providence.

The families were on vacation in Florida and were en route to watch Jacober's 21-year-old son, Michael, play in a Penn State lacrosse game, Freedman said. Michael Jacober is the captain of the team, according to the Penn State sports website.

The plane was headed from Naples, Fla., to State College, which is near Bellefonte, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Les Dorr said. The pilot was attempting an instrument landing approach to the airport, he said.

An instrument landing is typically attempted during poor weather, but Dorr said he did not know the weather conditions at the time.

The plane was manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. and registered to J2W Aviation LLC in Providence.