Composer and family die in Swiss plane crash
● Light aircraft comes down in Alps 90 minutes into journey to Italy
A British composer, his musician wife and their baby daughter have been killed in a plane crash in the Swiss Alps.
Award-winning composer Jonathan Goldstein, his wife Hannah Goldstein and seven-month-old Saskia were believed to be on their way to Italy when the plane they were travelling in crashed at the weekend.
A family spokesman 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.
“We would ask the media to respect the family’s privacy at this extremely difficult time.”
Police said a Piper plane set off on Sunday morning from an airfield in western Switzerland and was headed for Italy, but less than 90 minutes later it crashed above the Simplon Pass area near the Italian border and burst into flames.
The bodies of the pilot, a passenger and a small child were recovered from the wreckage.
A hiker walking in the Simplon Pass region with his family said he saw the crash, witnessing two burning objects fall from the sky. Christian Merz said he saw two people run towards the wreckage in a bid to help, but they were unable to get close because of the flames and smoke.
Mr Goldstein was the founder and creative director of Goldstein Music Group, a music production agency in London whose clients include HBO and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He was a classically trained composer with prolific credits in film, television and advertising. He wrote music for Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear, the 1991 thriller starring Robert De Niro.
Mrs Goldstein was a saxophonist who worked as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, and performed at prestigious venues including the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall. She was a regular at the BBC Proms.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “Our staff are assisting the relatives of a British family who died in a plane accident in western Switzerland and are also in contact with the local authorities.”