British composer and renowned musician among plane crash victims
The crash site of the plane accident at the Simplon Pass can be seen in this Valais cantonal police picture
Keystone/Kantonspolizei Wallis
An award-winning British composer and an acclaimed saxophonist died along with their baby in a plane crash in western Switzerland on Sunday, confirmed a family spokesperson on Tuesday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/jdp
The couple, Jonathan Goldstein and Hannah Marcinowicz, set off from an airfield in western Switzerland for Italy at around 9 am on Sunday. Police from the canton of Valais reported that at around 10:30 am the small piper plane crashed “due to unexplained circumstances” above the Simplon pass near the Italian border and burst into flames.
The cause of the crash is unknown and Swiss authorities have launched an investigation.
Just prior to take off, the couple had posted updates of their trip on Facebook with a last update from Lausanne on Saturday afternoon of Goldstein flying a small plane with Marcinowicz holding their daughter Saskia.
In a statement, a family spokesperson said: “We are all devastated by the news of Jonathan, Hannah and Saskia’s deaths. We loved them all so very much. They were so happy together and we will miss them terribly.”
Goldstein was a composer of music for film and television, working on projects including the film “Cape Fear” directed by Martin Scorsese. He had his own music production agency in London and had won several awards for original music.
According to her websiteExternal link, Marcinowicz graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and played the saxophone with many top British orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Is reforming the Swiss pension system still possible, and if so, how?
Solutions still need to be found to meet the challenge of an ageing population and to improve the pensions of low-paid workers, the majority of whom are women.
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Over 1,000 take part in memorial ride for deceased Swiss cyclist
This content was published on
Around 1,500 people took part in a memorial ride on Sunday for World Cycling Championship participant Muriel Furrer, who died after an accident.
Swiss survey shows majority want new nuclear power plants
This content was published on
More than half the Swiss population supports the government's plan to lift a ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants.
This content was published on
The majority of high level decisions in Swiss companies remains in the hands of men, says the latest Gender Intelligence Report.
Swiss canton wants to test collection of electronic signatures for initiatives
This content was published on
St Gallen wants to become the first Swiss canton to use electronic signatures (e-collecting) for referendums or initiatives.
Swiss government launches attempt to secure 2038 Winter Olympics
This content was published on
After failing to host the Winter Olympics in 2030 and 2034, Switzerland is trying again - this time for the 2038 Winter Games.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Pilot error caused fatal Swiss plane crash
This content was published on
Despite insufficient visibility, the pilot flew based on what he could see rather than what the navigational instruments were telling him, the court found. This cost him his life when the PC-7 plane crashed into the Schreckhorn mountain (altitude 4,080m / 13,386ft) near Grindelwald. The small Pilatus propeller plane had taken off from the Payerne…
Swiss probe says boy, 14, at controls of crashed plane
This content was published on
Swiss investigators say a 14-year-old was at the controls of a small plane that crashed in the Alps in 2017, killing him and two other people.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.