SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The couple who died in a plane crash during a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains have been identified. The victims, Liron Petrushka and Naomi Petrushka, were prominent entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, according to Upwest, the venture capital firm in which the couple invested.
Liron, 57, was an “angel investor” at UpWest, a Palo Alto-based company that invests in Israeli-led startups. “Our hearts are with the Petrushka family and his sons David, Scott and Jordan,” he wrote, the company wrote.
The plane crashed near the Tahoe-Truckee Airport at 6:38 p.m. during Saturday’s snowy weather.
“Single-engine TBM aircraft N960LP crashed while attempting to land at Truckee-Tahoe Airport near Glenshire Dr. in Truckee, California. The known death toll is two,” airport officials said.
Truckee police, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating.
“Liron and Naomi have played a key role in building and succeeding Upwest since its inception. They brought an entrepreneurial spirit and generosity. Liron Petrushka is a successful re-entrepreneur and , an iconic angel investor, joined UpWest as a partner in 2012. “Liron was a mentor, friend, and pillar of wisdom who loved life, sports, and a good laugh.” wrote Liron in a Facebook post with a photo.
Omar Gottlieb, co-founder of AI startup Salespeak, described Liron as a humble and “extraordinary” person. “Our numerous conversations over the past few months have been incredibly enriching. I learned something new from each piece,” Gottlieb wrote of X.
The Sacramento Bee reported that Liron was flying from Denver to California when the plane ran into rough weather. The pilot discussed weather concerns while attempting to land at Truckee Airport with the assistance of radar controllers in Oakland, the Bee reported.
A man who lives a block away from the crash site said he heard the sound of the plane’s engine as it crashed. “It was kind of surreal…the plane was passing over my house like that. There was also the weather. Visibility was poor.”
