A former MIT athlete was among those who were killed in an upstate New York plane crash over the weekend.
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According to the New York Post, the tragic incident happened on Saturday. The Groff family, which included Michael Groff, Joy Saini, former MIT athlete Karenna, Karenna’s boyfriend James Sontoro, Jared and his partner Alexia Couyutas Duarte, all perished in the small plane crash in Copake, near the Massachusetts border.
Michael and Joy’s third child, Anika, was not on the plane.
The family was heading to the Catskills aboard Michael’s private Mitsubishi MU-2B for a birthday and Passover celebration.
“They were a wonderful family,” John Sontoro, James’ father, shared. “The world lost a lot of very good people who were going to do a lot of good for the work if they had the opportunity. We’re all personally devastated.”
The surviving Groff family members issued a statement about the tragic plane crash. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved family members. We will remember them as the six brilliant, dynamic, and loving people that they were.”
The Former MIT Athlete Won NCAA Woman of the Year Three Years Before Tragic Plane Crash
James was also an MIT graduate who worked in finance. Meanwhile, Karenna was studying medicine at New York University. She was named NCAA Woman of the Year 2022 for her time on the MIT women’s soccer team.
“Really, this recognition is a testament to my MIT women’s soccer family,” she said in an interview. “And all of the guidance, support, and friendship they have provided for me over the years.”
Her father, Michael, was an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, the executive director of neuroscience at Rochester Regional Health, and an experienced pilot.
The family had departed from a White Plains airport on Saturday and was due to land at the Columbia County Airport at approximately noon. However, the plane’s pilot alerted air traffic controllers that they had missed their approach. They then requested directions for a second attempt.
When the air traffic tower indicated a “low altitude alert,” controllers lost contact with the small plane.
The plane crashed into a nearby field. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the crash.