- Liron and Naomi Petrushka’s plane crashed in Northern California on Saturday
- They had been living in Nevada since 2000, and they are survived by three kids
- They founded the company CommerceBid and sold it for $200m in 1999
The millionaire Israeli soccer star and his wife who were killed in a plane crash in the California mountains over the weekend have been pictured for the first time.
Liron and Naomi Petrushka were found in the wreckage of their Socata TBM9 jet close to Truckee Tahoe Airport around 6.40pm Saturday, per the FAA.
According to airport officials, the single-engine plane tanked while attempting to land after more than two hours in transit. The cause is under investigation.
Liron, 57, and Naomi, 58, who lived in Nevada with their three sons, set off from Centennial airport in Denver, Colorado around 4:20 pm before heading west.
Conditions were moderately snowy at the time of the crash, and there was a visibility of a half-mile, according to KCRA-TV.
The millionaire Israeli soccer star and his wife who were killed in a plane crash in the California mountains over the weekend have been pictured for the first time. (Pictured: Naomi Petrushka)
Before launching his impressive career as a tech investor, Liron Petrushka got his start playing soccer for the Israeli team Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim
According to the airport, the single-engine aircraft tanked while attempting to land after more than two hours in transit. The cause of the crash is under investigation
Liron and Naomi Petrushka were found in the wreckage of their Socata TBM9 close to Truckee Tahoe Airport around 6.40pm Saturday, according to the FAA
The Petrushkas had been living in upscale Incline Village, which overlooks Lake Tahoe in Nevada and joins on to the California border, since the year 2000 according to Nexis records.
They had established themselves as astute tech investors and had a string of successes behind them.
In 1999, the couple sold their company CommerceBid, which they had founded, for over $200 million.
After the acquisition, the Petrushkas remained on board to oversee the transition of the company into new hands.
After CommerceBid, they invested in Check, a company that was subsequently sold to American financial powerhouse Intuit in 2014 for around $360 million.
According to Ctech, the Petrushkas also invested in V.C. firm UpWest, an organization that invests in Israeli-helmed startups located in both Israel and the United States.
Before launching his impressive career as a tech investor, Liron got his start playing soccer for the Israeli team Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim.
In a statement to the Times of Israel, the soccer club’s chairperson said: ‘The club bows its head for the death of Liron Petrushka and his wife.’
Pictured: wreckage on the ground in the aftermath of the crash near Truckee, California
The Israeli couple had relocated to California, and they are survived by three sons
Their friend and business partner, Iddo Tal, also described Liron as ‘super humble despite all his success’ in a heartbreaking tribute to the couple on Facebook
According to the Truckee Tahoe Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the crash
Their friend and business partner, Iddo Tal, also described Liron as ‘super humble despite all his success’ in a heartbreaking tribute to the couple on Facebook.
‘We woke up today to the sad news of Liron and Naomi Petrushka’s tragic deaths,’ Tal wrote on Sunday.
‘Liron was a great guy and super humble despite all his success.
‘I was honored to have him as one of the investors in my startup and learned so much from him.
‘We also had some fun times together.
‘Two of my favorite memories – his surprised reaction when I demoed our first invi beta for him with its camera AR real time filters and the second, the fun ride we had in his airplane from Sonoma to Palo Alto over the skyscrapers of San Francisco.
‘I’ll miss you my friend. RIP. My heart is with the family and their sons David, Scott, and Jordan.’
Liron was a pilot licensed to fly both private and commercial jets, according to Nexis.
He had a six-seater single-engine Piper model PA-32-300 aircraft registered under his name from 2004 until 2008, per the records.
Officials are investigating the cause of the crash which killed the married couple on Saturday
It is not known what caused the collision. Visibility was about a half mile at the time
Investigators have been combing through debris at the crash site to determine the cause
The Petrushkas, who have three children, had set off from Centennial airport in Denver, Colorado , around 4:20 pm, before heading west
In a statement to the Times of Israel, the soccer club’s chairperson said: ‘The club bows its head for the death of Liron Petrushka (pictured) and his wife’
The plane carrying the Petrushkas crashed in Truckee, which is near the Nevada state line.
After the crash, the Truckee Police Department posted on their Facebook page.
‘Truckee Police and fire personnel are currently on scene of a plane crash near the area of Glenshire Drive and Olympic Blvd,’ the department said.
‘At this time there is no threat to any structures and no road closures.’
They warned nearby residents that ‘there will be a heavy presence of emergency responders in the area for an extended period of time.’
The Truckee Tahoe Airport said that following the plane crash, ‘Truckee Police, Truckee Fire, Nevada County Sheriff, Nevada County Coroner and Truckee Tahoe Airport staff were on scene.’
They added that the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the situation.