Three area physicians killed in plane crash in Chicago suburb

Three area physicians died late Sunday after a small plane on its way to Lawrence crashed within minutes of taking off from Chicago Midway International Airport.

Killed were Tausif Rehman, Ali A. Kanchwala and Maria Javaid, who was married to Kanchwala, according to a statement released by Stormont-Vail HealthCare, which serves Topeka and northeast Kansas.

Rehman, a neurosurgeon, and Kanchwala, a pulmonologist, treated patients at Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center and Cotton O’Neil Clinic in Topeka. Javaid had been a cardiologist at Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.

The twin-engine Beechcraft Baron was owned by a Kansas firm controlled by Rehman. Nancy Burkhardt, a spokeswoman for Stormont-Vail HealthCare, confirmed that Rehman had been a pilot.

“Dr. Rehman and Dr. Kanchwala were extremely valued, highly skilled and beloved members of our staff,” Randy Peterson, the president and chief executive officer of Stormont-Vail HealthCare said in a statement.

“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.”

Randall G. Nyp, the CEO of Providence Medical Center, described Javaid as “a kind and caring physician on our staff who connected with her adoring patients with great listening skills and thoughtful input.”

The plane crashed about five minutes after taking off from Midway at 10:35 p.m., officials said. According to online flight records, it had flown from Lawrence to Chicago earlier Sunday, arriving at 2:18 p.m.

Skies were overcast at the time of the crash, said John Brannen, a senior air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Brannen said the pilot was properly licensed for the aircraft and made no distress call. The plane was “nearly vertical” when it struck trees and the ground, he said.

“The airplane simply dropped off the radar and crashed,” he said.

Deputy Chief James Boie of the Palos Hills Police Department said that when his officers arrived just after 10:40 p.m., they found the crashed plane in an open lot, one of the only ones for several blocks in the neighborhood.

“The airplane missed all the houses,” Boie said.

Boie said the pilot may have tried to avoid the houses, but he cautioned that the area was dark and it had been raining.

On Monday, Palos Hills officers cordoned off a two-square-block area and interviewed witnesses, Boie said. The NTSB removed wreckage from the scene late Monday afernoon, he added. Agency representatives told Palos Hills police that a preliminary account of the accident would take about 10 days to complete.

The full report probably would take several months, Boie said.

Family members are expected to identify the bodies Tuesday morning, said an investigator with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office in Chicago. No official identifications will be announced before then, he said.

Rehman joined Stormont-Vail in 2013. He received his medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan in 2002 and completed an internship in general surgery at Brown University in Rhode Island in 2005. The next year he began a neurosurgery residency at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Kanchwala joined Stormont-Vail in 2010. He received his medical degree from Dow University of Health Sciences in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2000. He completed his residency in internal medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., in 2007.

Javaid joined the Providence Medical Center staff in 2008, and also saw patients at Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth.

This story was originally published October 13, 2014 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Three area physicians killed in plane crash in Chicago suburb."