Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz was killed along with six other people in a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts, just days after ending an ugly ownership dispute with a deal many hoped would end months of turmoil at the newspaper and restore it to its former glory.
His son, Drew, and a business partner confirmed Katz’s death in a crash of a Gulfstream IV private jet, which went down on takeoff from Hanscom Field outside Boston on its way to Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Saturday night. There were no survivors.
Katz, who had been an investor in the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, bought the Nets in 1998 and owned the team when they reached the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. He sold the team in 2004 to Bruce Ratner.