A private plane crashed in upstate New York over the weekend, transporting a close-knit family of physicians and distinguished recent student-athletes on their way to the Catskills for a birthday celebration and Passover holiday.
The twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B crashed just after noon Saturday in a muddy field in Copake, New York, near the Massachusetts border, killing all six passengers aboard, according to police and a family member who talked with The Associated Press.
Karenna Groff, a former MIT football player named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year; her father, Dr. Michael Groff, a neuroscientist; her mother, Dr. Joy Saini, a urogynecologist; and Karenna Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro, a recent MIT graduate, according to James’ father, John Santoro.
“They were a wonderful family,” Santoro told the Associated Press. “The world has lost a number of extremely wonderful people who would have done a lot of good for the world if given the opportunity. “We are all personally devastated.”
Santoro said his son first met Groff as a freshman at MIT. Groff, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, was an All-American football player and biomedical engineering student. Santoro, a maths major from New Jersey, represented the school in lacrosse.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Groff co-founded openPPE and contributed to the development of a new mask design for vital workers. In 2023, she was named the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year for her on- and off-field achievements the previous year.
“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 had said in a previous interview.
After graduation, Santoro and Groff relocated to Manhattan, where Groff attended medical school at New York University and Santoro worked as an investment associate for Silver Point, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
According to John Santoro, they arrived at an airfield in White Plains, a New York City suburb, on Saturday morning and boarded Michael Groff’s private plane.
They were supposed to land at Columbia County Airport, but crashed about 20 miles (32 kilometres) to the south.
“It’s in the middle of a field and it’s pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult,” Columbia County Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore said at a news conference on Saturday.
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an inquiry and is expected to offer an update Sunday evening. Funeral arrangements were underway, according to Santoro.
“The 25 years we had with James were the best years of our lives,” he said; “and the joy and love he brought us will be enough to last a lifetime.”