1989 helicopter crash with Trumps casino execs aboard

 

On October 10, 1989, a chartered Agusta A109A helicopter carrying three of 

Donald Trump's

 top casino executives crashed in the wooded median of the Garden State Parkway near Lacey Township, New Jersey. All five people on board were killed. 

The Victims

The crash claimed the lives of the three most senior leaders of Trump’s Atlantic City gaming operations: 

• Stephen F. Hyde
   (43): CEO of Trump’s three casinos (Trump Plaza, Trump Castle, and the Taj Mahal).
• Mark Grossinger Etess
   (38): President and COO of the Trump Taj Mahal, which was then under construction.
• Jonathan Benanav
   (33): Executive Vice President of Trump Plaza.
• Pilot and Co-pilot: 
  Robert Kent
   and 
  Lawrence Diener
  . 

Crash Details & Cause

The flight originated at the 60th Street Heliport in Manhattan and was headed to Atlantic City. Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter's main rotor blade separate from the craft in mid-air, causing the helicopter to plummet 2,800 feet into the parkway's median. 

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the probable cause was mechanical failure due to a manufacturing defect. A "manufacturing induced scratch" in the main rotor blade spar caused metal fatigue, leading the blade to snap. 

Aftermath and Controversy

• Business Impact: The loss was described as a "shocking blow" that devastated Trump’s company just months before the high-stakes opening of the $1 billion Taj Mahal. Some analysts later suggested the loss of these key leaders contributed to the financial struggles and subsequent bankruptcies of Trump's casino empire.
• Trump’s "Near-Miss" Claim: Shortly after the crash, Donald Trump claimed he had been scheduled to be on the flight but canceled at the last minute because he was "too busy". Biographers and former associates, such as Jack O’Donnell, have since alleged this was a publicity stunt and that Trump was never actually scheduled to be on that specific chartered flight.
• Legacy: The Mark Grossinger Etess Arena at the former Taj Mahal (now the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino) was named in honor of the executive.