A tight-knit family of doctors and student athletes were killed when a private plane plummeted in upstate New York over the weekend.
The twin-engine turboprop Mitsubishi MU-2B, which had departed from White Plains and was carrying six people, crashed near the Massachusetts border as it attempted to land at Columbia County Airport on Saturday (April 12).
Moments before the tragedy, the pilot had contacted air traffic controllers to request a second landing attempt when the control tower issued a “low altitude alert” and then lost all contact with the private plane, according to The New York Post.
Among the victims were Michael Groff, a neuroscientist and experienced pilot, his wife Joy Saini, a urologist, and their children: MIT graduates Karenna and Jared Groff.
Also killed were Karenna’s boyfriend, James Sontoro, and Jared’s partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, according to the Times Union. Their daughter Anika was not on the flight.
The family was headed to the Catskills for a birthday and Passover celebration when the horrific crash occurred.
“They were a wonderful family,” John Sontoro, James’ father, said. “The world lost a lot of very good people who were going to do a lot of good for the world if they had the opportunity. We’re all personally devastated.”
Karenna, a standout soccer player at MIT, was named NCAA Woman of the Year in 2022 and was studying medicine at NYU.
“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 an interview at the time.
James, like Karenna, was an MIT graduate and worked in finance. Michael served as executive director of neuroscience at Rochester Regional Health and was an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He was piloting the aircraft when it went down.
In a statement, surviving family members shared their grief: “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," they concluded.
Just days earlier, six people had died in another New York air disaster when a Bell 206 helicopter plunged into the Hudson River.
The pilot, former Navy SEAL Sean Johnson, had radioed that the aircraft needed fuel shortly before the rotor separated mid-air.
Killed in that crash were the pilot and a family of five: Merce Camprubi Montal, her husband Agustín Escobar, and their three children, aged 11, five, and four.
Joan Camprubí Montal, Merce’s brother, traveled to New York to identify the victims. “We will never forget you. We will keep your smile alive every day of our lives, and I believe that’s the best legacy we can give you."
Kathryn Johnson, the pilot’s widow, told The Gothamist: “I'm just at loss for words. I don't even know what happened. It's just hard right now.”
Johnson’s co-pilot and longtime friend, Earl Watters, also posted on Facebook: “With a heavy heart I post this...Thanks to everyone that has reached out to me. Yes, the pilot of the helicopter crash in NY was my Co-Pilot and great friend on Boomer last year, Sean Johnson.
"The world has lost an all-around great person and amazing friend. He definitely changed my life for the better, and I just want to celebrate his life and how he lived. Always and forever a BOOMER crew member. Godspeed, Amigo," he added,
Both crashes remain under investigation by federal authorities.