Dead in aircraft crashes in upstate New York include NCAA women and families of the year 2022
A private jet crashed over the weekend in upstate New York is carrying a close-knit family of doctors and distinguished recent student-athletes, being taken to Catskills for birthday celebrations and Passover holidays.
Authorities and a family member who spoke with the Associated Press said it was after noon Saturday that the twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B fell in a muddy field in New York State’s science season, killing all six people, according to authorities and a family member who spoke with the Associated Press.
Among the victims is Karenna Groff, a former MIT footballer named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year. Her father, Dr. Michael Groff, neuroscientist; John Santoro, James’ father, said that her mother, urinary womenologist and Karenna Groff’s boyfriend, Dr. Joy Saini, recently graduated.
“They are a great family,” Santoro told the Associated Press. “The world has lost a lot of really good people and if there is a chance, they will do a lot of good for the world. We are all personally devastated.”
Santoro said his son was studying for a freshman at MIT for the first time. Groff grew up in Weston, Massachusetts and is an all-American football player studying biomedical engineering. Santoro, a mathematics major from New Jersey, works for the school.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Groff co-founded OpenPpe, helping create new designs for masks for essential workers. In 2023, she won the prestigious NCAA Women of the Year Award for her on-site and off-site achievements.
“Indeed, this recognition proves my MIT women’s football family and all the guidance, support and friendships that have been given to me over the years,” she said in an interview at the time.
After graduation, Santoro and Groff moved to Manhattan, where Groff enrolled at New York University’s medical school, while Santoro served as investment assistant at Silver Point, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
According to John Santoro, they headed to an airport in White Plains, a New York City suburb, on Saturday morning to board Michael Groff’s private jet.
They were arranged at Columbia County Airport but crashed about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southward.
“It’s located in the middle of a field, it’s very muddy, so it’s hard to access,” Columbia County Deputy Sheriff Jacqueline Salvatore said in a news conference Saturday.
The National Transportation Safety Commission has begun an investigation and is expected to provide an update on Sunday night. Santoro said funeral arrangements are underway.
He added: “The 25 years with James are the best time of our lives, and the joy and love he brings us will last for a lifetime.”
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