No survivors were reported after a civilian plane crashed Saturday while preparing for a second landing attempt in Columbia County, New York, officials said.
Federal officials said at a press conference on Sunday that six people travelled to Ghent’s Columbia County Airport on their way to the planned holiday celebration with their families.
Family friend John Santoro has stated that his adult son, a recent MIT alumnus James Santoro, has died in a crash.
Santoro’s statement identified others on board. Karen Naglov is a former MIT soccer player named 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year. Her father, Dr. Michael Groff, a neuroscientist; her mother, Dr. Joy Saini, a urologist. Her brother, Jared Groff, a 2022 graduate of Swarthmore University, where she worked as a paralegal. Jared Groff’s partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, was a graduate of Swarthmore and was planning to attend Harvard Law School. James Santoro and Karenna Groff’s boyfriend.
All six were pulled out of the plane and none were hospitalized, National Road Safety Commission member Todd Inman said at a press conference on Sunday.
“The aircraft were compressed, buckled and embedded in the terrain,” Inman said. “In fact, the aircraft crashed at the rate of descent to the ground.”
According to NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration officials, the Mitsubishi MU-2B, an experienced pilot in control, crashed into the field around 12:15pm on Saturday. The aircraft was at Columbia County Airport, about 10 miles south of its destination.
The plane had jumped out of Westchester County airport in West Harrison, just north of New York City, about 100 miles south of Ghent, NTSB officials said.
The pilot had abandoned the landing attempt and had prepared a second attempt when the plane hit the ground at high speed, Inman said.
“The pilot reported that he missed the approach,” NTSB investigator Albert Nixon, who is responsible for crash probes, said at a press conference.
Columbia County Airport Air Traffic Control Tower tried to contact him four times but to no avail, he said. Radio contact began with an attempt to notify the pilot of a low-altitude warning, Nixon said.
The pilot remained silent, he said. “There was no pain,” Nixon said before the impact.
The pilot was flying on musical instruments rather than visually, and snow was falling on the ground, NTSB officials said. According to data from the National Weather Service, conditions included cloudy skies and temperatures of 35 degrees.
Investigators reviewed the crash video, Inman said. It is not clear where the video was recorded accurately, and he indicated that it is unlikely to be published.
The Mitsubishi MU-2B said it is a twin-intervalop aircraft with pressurized cabins like commercial jets, and can fly higher and farther than many non-profit planes.
He said the aircraft changed hands last year and received a “very upgraded avionics package” at the time.
The plane was registered with an entity called Dynamic Spine Solutions LLC based in Weston, Massachusetts, according to its FAA tail number registration information. Dr. Michael Groff is listed in the state establishment records as the sole agent and contact of the entity.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a confirmation of death or requests for the identity of the person on board.
