The dead in upstate NY plane crash included NCAA woman of the year and family members

A private aircraft that crashed in the city of New York on Saturday wore a close family of doctors and prominent student athletes in search of a trip to the Catskills to celebrate a 25th birthday and the Passover holiday.

The twin car aircraft, a Mitsubishi Mu-2B, went off shortly after afternoon in a muddy field in Copake, New York, near the Massachusetts line and killed all six people on board, according to the authorities and a family member who spoke to the Associated Press.

The victims were Karenna Groff, a former MIT footballer who recently named the NCAA Woman of the Year; Her father, a neuroscientist, dr. Michael Groff; Her mother, Dr. Joy Sainin, a urogineecologist and Karenna Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro, another recent MIT graduate, according to James’ father, John Santoro. Santoro said Karenna Groff’s brother and his girlfriend were on board.

“They were a wonderful family,” Santoro told The Associated Press. ‘The world has lost many very good people who would do very well for the world if they had the opportunity. We are all personally ruined. ‘

Santoro said his son first met Groff as a freshman studying at MIT. Groff, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, was an all-American footballer who studied biomedical engineering. Santoro, a Mathematics head of New Jersey, played lacrosse for the school.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Groff Openpe co-founded, which helps create a new design of masks for essential workers. In 2023 she received the prestigious Ncaa Woman of the Year Award for her achievements on and off the field.

“This recognition is a testament to my MIT women’s soccer family and all the guidance, support and friendship they have given me over the years,” she said in an interview at the time.

After graduating, Santoro and Groff moved to Manhattan, where Groff enrolled at the Medical School at the University of New York and worked Santoro as an investment fellow for Silver Point, a hedge fund in Greenwich, Connecticut.

On Saturday morning, they traveled to an airport in White Plains, a suburb of New York, where they were aboard Michael Groff’s private aircraft, according to John Santoro.

They would end up at Columbia County Airport, but crashed about 32 kilometers to the south.

“It’s in the middle of a field and it’s pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult,” said Jacqueline Salvatore, Columbia County.

The National Transport Safety Council has begun an investigation and is expected to give an update on Sunday night. Funeral arrangements were underway, Santoro said.

“The 25 years we had with James were the best years of our lives,” he added, “and the joy and love He brought to us will be enough to last a lifetime.”