The sole survivor of the horrific 2001 helicopter crash which shook the Orthodox Jewish community to its core, was sadly Niftar on Motzei Shabbos in Monsey.
Mrs. Chana Daskal A”H, a resident of Seagate, NY, passed away at the age of 47 after suffering from an unrelated illness for approximately a year. She was Niftar on Shabbos at a home in Monsey where she had been recently staying.
Mrs. Daskal had been gradually rehabilitating from near-fatal injuries she sustained in the Aug. 10, 2001, crash. She suffered a broken back, burns over 80 percent of her body, and had both legs amputated after the helicopter she was in, a Eurocopter AS350, crashed into a ridgeline during a sightseeing tour of the Grand Canyon.
When she was flown back to New York about a year after the tragedy, Mrs. Daskal released a statement saying she’s sure Hashem had a reason to spare her life, and thanked the rescuers, doctors, nurses, family and friends “who circled me with their love and their prayers.”
“Without them, I would not have had the strength to survive everything that has happened to me,” she said.
She is survived by two sons.
Among those killed in the tragic crash were her husband, David Daskal Z”L, Shayie Lichtenstein Z”L, Avi and Barbara Wajsbaum and Aryeh Zvi Fastag, all of Brooklyn. The pilot, Kevin Innocenti, was also killed.
The National Transportation Safety Board blamed pilot error for the crash.
The levaya is set to take place at 10:30 PM tonight at 14 Valencia Dr., Monsey, NY 10952.
Boruch Dayan HaEmmes.