Thirty years ago, Republican Sen. John Heinz – then Pennsylvania’s most popular public figure – died in a midair collision over suburban Philadelphia’s Lower Merion Township. The April 4, 1991, crash that aviation officials deemed a “senseless accident” occurred when a helicopter flew too close to inspect the landing gear of the plane carrying Heinz.
The two aircraft collided over Merion Elementary School, where children were at recess on that beautiful spring afternoon. Seven people were killed: Heinz, age 52, and the plane’s pilot and co-pilot; two pilots in the helicopter; and two first-grade girls playing in the schoolyard. On the ground, crash debris also injured five people, including a second-grade boy who survived burns over 80% of his body.
