Karenna Groff , a former MIT soccer standout and the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year , was among six people killed Saturday when a small plane crashed in Copake, New York, near the Massachusetts border, authorities and family members said.
The twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B , piloted by Groff’s father, Dr. Michael Groff , went down shortly after noon in a muddy agricultural field, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). All passengers on board were killed, including Groff’s mother, Dr. Joy Saini; her brother, Jared Groff; Jared’s partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte; and Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro.
Shortly before the crash, the pilot radioed Columbia County Airport to report a missed approach and requested new instructions. As controllers issued a low altitude alert, they received no response and heard no distress call. “Investigators obtained video of the final seconds of the flight, which appears to show that the aircraft was intact and crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground,” NTSB official Todd Inman said.
Groff, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, was an All-American soccer player and biomedical engineering student at MIT. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded openPPE to design protective masks for essential workers. “Really, this recognition is a testament to my MIT women's soccer family and all of the guidance, support and friendship they have provided for me over the years,” she said in a 2023 interview after winning the NCAA honor.
After graduating, Groff had moved to Manhattan with Santoro, a former MIT lacrosse player and math major, where she began medical school at NYU and he worked as an investment associate.
The family departed from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY, en route to Columbia County Airport. The wreckage was found about 10 miles south of their destination. The aircraft was "compressed, buckled and embedded in the terrain," Inman noted.
The pilot was flying under instrument flight rules, though investigators have not confirmed whether weather or visibility played a role. The aircraft, sold a year ago, had recently upgraded cockpit technology and met FAA standards, the NTSB said.
Investigators are expected to remain at the crash site for a week. A final report could take up to two years.
(With inputs from Associated press and ESPN)
The twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B , piloted by Groff’s father, Dr. Michael Groff , went down shortly after noon in a muddy agricultural field, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). All passengers on board were killed, including Groff’s mother, Dr. Joy Saini; her brother, Jared Groff; Jared’s partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte; and Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro.
Shortly before the crash, the pilot radioed Columbia County Airport to report a missed approach and requested new instructions. As controllers issued a low altitude alert, they received no response and heard no distress call. “Investigators obtained video of the final seconds of the flight, which appears to show that the aircraft was intact and crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground,” NTSB official Todd Inman said.
Groff, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, was an All-American soccer player and biomedical engineering student at MIT. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded openPPE to design protective masks for essential workers. “Really, this recognition is a testament to my MIT women's soccer family and all of the guidance, support and friendship they have provided for me over the years,” she said in a 2023 interview after winning the NCAA honor.
After graduating, Groff had moved to Manhattan with Santoro, a former MIT lacrosse player and math major, where she began medical school at NYU and he worked as an investment associate.
The family departed from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY, en route to Columbia County Airport. The wreckage was found about 10 miles south of their destination. The aircraft was "compressed, buckled and embedded in the terrain," Inman noted.
The pilot was flying under instrument flight rules, though investigators have not confirmed whether weather or visibility played a role. The aircraft, sold a year ago, had recently upgraded cockpit technology and met FAA standards, the NTSB said.
Investigators are expected to remain at the crash site for a week. A final report could take up to two years.
(With inputs from Associated press and ESPN)
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