Three Pakistani-American Doctors Die in Chicago Plane Crash
Palos Hills: Three top Pakistani-American physicians were killed when their private double engine Beech craft Baron crashed Monday night at 2240 hours in Palos Hills, a city in the state of Illinois.
The three were on board when the plane crashed in a Palos Hills neighborhood soon after it took off from Chicago’s Midway International Airport.
"The three Pakistani-American physicians who died in the air crash were pulmonologist Dr Ali Kanchwala, cardiologist Dr Maria Javed, also wife of Dr Ali Kanchwala and neurosurgeon Dr Tauseef Rehman — all based in Lawrence, Kansas," Pakistan's Consul General in Chicago Faisal Tirmizi told Dawn.
"They had gone to Chicago for a shopping trip and were returning in the evening when the aircraft crashed," Tirmizi said.
According to initial reports, it appeared that Dr Tauseef who was flying the aircraft deliberately crashed it in an open area in order to protect houses in a heavily populated area.
"It came through the trees and missed all the houses," said Palos Hills Deputy Police Chief James Boie, adding that the plane's occupants were dead when first responders arrived at the scene.
Tirmizi said the funeral of Dr Ali Kanchwala and Dr Maria Javed was likely to be held in the US, whereas Dr Tauseef Rehman’s remains are to be sent to Pakistan for burial. Rehman received his medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan in 2002. He participated as a research assistant at Aga Khan University Department of Neurosciences after earning his medical degree. He was a member of the Congress of Neurosurgeons and the American Association of Neurosurgeons.
Kanchwala was a pulmonologist and medical intensivist and joined Stormont-Vail HealthCare in August 2010. He received his medical degree from DOW University of Health Sciences in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2000.
“Dr. Rehman and Dr. Kanchwala were extremely valued, highly skilled and beloved members of our staff,” said Randy Peterson, president and chief executive officer of Stormont-Vail HealthCare. “We are heartbroken. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these individuals and the staff who worked closely with them. These physicians were deeply committed to their patients and to bringing the best of care to our community. We also extend our deepest sympathies to the Providence Medical Center staff for the loss of Dr. Javaid.”
Authorities said the aircraft, which was headed to Lawrence, crashed about 10:40 p.m. Sunday in the 10100 block of S. 86th Court in Palos Hills, a suburb on the southwest side of Chicago. The plane went down in the only vacant lot in a neighborhood of single-family homes.
The location of where the plane crashed was about 12 miles south and west of Midway.
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