A FAMILY of top scientists and former student athletes have been identified as the victims of a New York plane crash that left six people dead.
Neuroscientist Michael Groff, urologist Joy Saini and their daughter, Karenna, an ex-soccer star, were killed when their private plane they were traveling in smashed into a muddy field on Saturday.
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Karenna’s boyfriend, James Santoro, as well as Groff’s son, Jared, and his partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, were also killed in the tragedy.
They were heading to upstate New York for a birthday celebration and a Passover gathering, as reported by the New York Post.
The family, on board a Mitsubishi MU-2B plane, were en-route to Columbia County Airport in Hudson before it crashed.
It was only 10 miles away from the airport when it smashed into the field in Copake just after 12 noon local time.
The family had left Westchester County Airport in White Plains.
But the pilot had asked air traffic controllers for a new approach plan after missing their initial landing.
Then, air traffic controllers warned the pilot three times about low altitude.
But the pilot didn’t respond, nor did they make a distress call, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Officials revealed the plane, owned by Groff, was traveling at high speeds before hurtling into the ground.
The plane was compressed and buckled in the ground, investigators added.
Groff and Saini’s daughter, Karenna, graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2022 and was studying medicine.
She designed masks for essential workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was a soccer star and an avid sports fan.
She was named the NCAA Woman of the Year in 2022, and months later, she threw the first pitch at Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Karenna met James while they were studying at MIT.
John Santoro, James’s dad, revealed his son was planning to propose to Karenna in the summer.
Meanwhile, Michael Groff was an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
He was also an experienced pilot, his family told the Associated Press.
And, Joy Saini worked as a surgeon and urogynecologist, according to The Times Union.
She was the founder of Boston Pelvic Health & Wellness, located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Groff’s son Jared worked as a paralegal, while his partner Alexia was planning on studying at Harvard Law school in the fall.
The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
It could take up to 24 months for officials to complete their report.
Investigators haven’t revealed if weather was a factor in the crash.
Recent ‘cluster’ of plane crashes
A number of recent plane crashes in the US have left Americans terrified of traveling by air.
However, aviation expert and attorney Jason Matzus told The U.S. Sun the crashes can be attributed to “random clustering.”
“While these events are tragic, the likely explanation is simply ‘random clustering,’ which occurs when multiple crashes occur over a short period, warping our general perception and causing us to think that there is an increasing trend in plane crashes,” Matzus said.
“When in reality these crashes, despite being so close together, are merely coincidental and not caused by a systemic safety issue.”
The short period Matzus is referring to is just a matter of three weeks. The recent aviation mishaps include:
January 29 – A military helicopter and American Airlines plane collided at the Washington DC airport and killed 67 people
January 31 – An air ambulance carrying a six-year-old girl and her mom crashed onto a street in Philadelphia, killing seven people in total
February 5 – A Japan Airlines flight hit a parked Delta plane at Seattle SeaTac Airport and no one was injured
February 6 – A small commuter plane on its way to Nome, Alaska, crashed and killed all 10 people on board
February 10 – Motley Crue singer Vince Neil’s private jet collided into another plane, killing the pilot and injuring four others
February 17 – A Delta plane crashed onto the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport, miraculously killing no one but injuring 21
February 19 – Two planes collided at Marana Airport in Arizona, killing two people
February 24 – Smoke filled a Delta Airlines flight cabin, forcing passengers to evacuate by an emergency slide after making an emergency landing in Atlanta.
March 9 – A Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft crashed into a retirement village parking lot in Manheim, Pennsylvania.
March 13 – An American Airlines’ jet engine erupted into flames at the Denver airport, forcing passengers to escape onto the plane’s wing.
The Groff’s plane crashed just days after a tourist helicopter lost control and splashed into the Hudson River.
Siemens exec Agustin Escobar, his wife and their three children were on board the doomed plane.
The Spanish family boarded the chopper just hours after arriving in New York from Barcelona.
Pilot Sean Johnson, a former Navy SEAL, was also among the fatalities.
A string of plane crashes have been reported across North America in recent months.
Sixty seven people were killed after an American Airlines plane collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter in January.
The passenger plane was about to land at Reagan National Airport when the tragedy unfolded.
Days later, seven people were killed after a medical plane crashed in Philadelphia.
In February, a Delta Airlines plane that had departed Minneapolis crashed upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport.
The jet flipped on its roof after hitting the runway at high speeds.
Officials revealed 21 people were injured but there were no fatalities.
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