Services set for victims of Hudson River crash

Funeral services for brothers Steven and Daniel Altman and Daniel's son Douglas will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Temple Sinai, 1401 N. Limekiln Pike, Dresher. Burial will be in Shalom Memorial Park, Huntingdon Valley.

The Altmans died Saturday when a single-engine plane piloted by Steven Altman collided with a helicopter over the Hudson River in New York City. The pilot and five Italian tourists aboard the helicopter also were killed. The accident is under investigation.

Daniel Altman, 49, of Dresher, and Steven Altman, 60, of Ambler, had flown from Wings Field in Blue Bell to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to pick up Douglas Altman, 15. They planned to fly from there to the Jersey Shore.

Douglas Altman had spent five weeks with a group of young people in Alaska and Hawaii this summer, and had been visiting friends from the trip in North Jersey.

He had completed ninth grade at Upper Dublin High School, where he was a member of the tennis and golf teams. He enjoyed playing golf with his father and older brother Maxwell, and would recap the game hole by hole when they came home, his mother, Jaclyn Robbins Altman, said. She said Maxwell and Douglas spent several summers at Camp Takajo in Maine.

In 2007, the two boys and their parents made a pilgrimage to Israel with five other families.

Daniel and Jaclyn Altman met at a fund-raising event for Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, and married in 1986. Daniel Altman graduated from Springfield High School in Montgomery County, and earned a bachelor's degree from the Philadelphia Institute of Textiles and Science, now Philadelphia University. He then went to work for the family firm, Altman Bros., now Altman Management Co. He interrupted his career there for seven years to work for real estate brokerage firms. He and his brother were principals with Altman, specializing in apartment-community acquisition and management.

Daniel Altman and his wife had recently bought a summer home in Margate, N.J. She was supposed to pick up her husband, son, and brother-in-law when they arrived at Ocean City Municipal Airport on Saturday afternoon.

Steven Altman had been flying for 15 years and co-owned the single-engine Piper PA-32. His wife, Pamela Jabbusch Altman, said that once or twice a month, he flew for Angel Flight East. The organization provides free flights to and from health-care centers.

Steven Altman also graduated from Springfield High School. After earning a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1971, he joined Altman Bros., where he developed the company's computer system. While working, he earned a master's degree in computer science from Drexel University and a master's degree in environmental science from the University of Pennsylvania.

He and his wife met at a party in Center City and married in 1975. In 1973, he spent a year on a kibbutz in Israel, and his future wife joined him there for several months. Years later, they would visit Israel with their four children.

Steven Altman enjoyed basketball and skiing trips out West with his family. He was captain of the B'nai B'rith men's basketball team that played at Abington Friends School. One of the players was his son Benjamin. He worked out regularly, Benjamin Altman said.

Two weeks ago, Steven Altman was the proud father at his daughter Abby's wedding to Jeffrey Arons.

Steven Altman served on the board of Einstein Medical Center and was past president of the Apartment Association of Philadelphia.

Steven and Daniel Altman were involved with Jewish charities and, with their brothers Brett and Robert, were to be honored in November by State of Israel Bonds for their service.

Steven Altman is survived by another daughter, Laura, and a grandson, in addition to his wife, son and daughter; Daniel Altman is survived by his wife and son; and both also are survived by their parents, David and Louise, and a sister, in addition to their brothers. Douglas Altman, in addition to his mother, brother, and paternal grandparents, is survived by his maternal grandparents, Alan and Judith Robbins.