A private plane preparing for a second landing attempt crashed in New York’s Columbia County on Saturday, resulting in no survivors, according to officials.
Six individuals were on board the aircraft, traveling to Columbia County Airport in Ghent for a planned holiday celebration with family.
Family friend John Santoro confirmed to The Associated Press that his son, James Santoro, a recent MIT graduate, perished in the accident.
Santoro’s statement identified the other victims aboard the plane: Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player and 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year; her father, Dr. Michael Groff, a neuroscientist; her mother, Dr. Joy Saini, a urogynecologist; her brother, Jared Groff, a 2022 graduate of Swarthmore College working as a paralegal; Alexia Couyutas Duarte, Jared Groff’s partner, who also graduated from Swarthmore and intended to attend Harvard Law School; and James Santoro, Karenna Groff’s boyfriend.
All six individuals were reportedly pulled from the wreckage of the plane; however, none were hospitalized, as stated by Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), during a news conference on Sunday.
Describing the tragic scene, Inman noted, “The aircraft was compressed, buckled and embedded into the terrain.
The aircraft was, in fact, crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground.”
The plane, identified as a Mitsubishi MU-2B, crashed into a field near Copake around 12:15 p.m. on Saturday.
The aircraft was approximately 10 miles south of its intended destination, Columbia County Airport.
Federal officials stated that the plane had taken off from Westchester County Airport in West Harrison, just north of New York City, and was about 100 miles south of Ghent at the time of the crash.
NTSB officials disclosed that the pilot had aborted an initial landing attempt and was preparing for a second when the plane struck the ground at a high speed.
Albert Nixon, the NTSB investigator in charge of the case, reported that the pilot had communicated a missed approach.
Nixon revealed that the Columbia County Airport air traffic control tower attempted to contact the pilot four times without success, beginning with an attempt to alert him of a low-altitude warning.
The pilot failed to respond, and according to Nixon, “There was no distress call” made before the impact.
Investigators indicated that the flight was operating under instrument flight rules rather than visually and noted that snow was present on the ground.
Current weather conditions included overcast skies and a temperature of 35 degrees, according to data from the National Weather Service.
As part of the ongoing investigation, officials have reviewed video footage of the crash.
Although its origin was not explicitly stated, Inman suggested that it is unlikely the footage would be released to the public.
The Mitsubishi MU-2B is a twin-turboprop aircraft featuring a pressurized cabin akin to commercial jets, thus enabling it to fly at greater altitudes and distances compared to many noncommercial aircraft.
The plane changed ownership last year and received significant upgrades to its avionics system.
It is currently registered to Dynamic Spine Solutions LLC, which is based in Weston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Michael Groff is documented in state incorporation records as the sole agent and contact for the entity.
As of now, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to requests confirming the identities of those who were on board or their status.
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