‘Heartbroken' friends and colleagues mourn four members of Weston family killed in plane crash

Boston Globe

14-04-2025

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Also killed was Karenna Groff's boyfriend and recent MIT graduate, James Santoro, and Alexia Couyutas Duarte, Jared Groff's partner, who graduated from Swarthmore College and planned to attend Harvard Law School, relatives said Sunday in a joint statement.
Karenna Groff threw a ball prior to a baseball game at Fenway Park on April 3, 2023 in Boston.
Charles Krupa/Associated Press
'We will remember them as the six brilliant, dynamic, and loving people that they were,' the statement said.
Chiocca said Karenna and Jared Groff were contemporaries with his children at Weston High School and had been at his house on numerous occasions. He also knows the youngest daughter, Anika Groff, who attends Weston High School.
'She's also a great kid, just a really close family,' he said.
Karenna Groff graduated in 2018, a year after Jared Groff, according to a statement from the town's public school system.
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'Their lives ended far too soon,' the statement said. 'One family member, a current student at Weston High School, was not on the plane and remains with us. We are holding her and her extended family and friends in our thoughts and are committed to supporting her in the days ahead.'
Anika Groff is scheduled to graduate this year, according to Globe coverage of her career on the school soccer team.
Chiocca said Michael Groff was vice chair of the neurosurgery department at Mass General Brigham — Chiocca is the chair — from 2011 until last summer, when he took over as the executive medical director of neurosciences at
This 2023 photo provided by John Santoro shows his son, James Santoro, and Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player recently named the NCAA Woman of Year.
Uncredited/Associated Press
'He was just a very human human being,' he said. 'He was very well-liked, very empathetic, very charismatic, very kind. He's Jewish so we'd say, 'He's a real mensch.''
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash but does not provide names of pilots or crash victims. But the profile of the pilot outlined by the NTSB on Sunday — someone who had first earned a license at a young age and was certified to fly the Mitsubishi — matches that of Michael Groff.
Relatives and records show he was 16 when he was first licensed to fly and was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly commercial and private aircraft.
Chiocca, who flew on a number of occasions with Groff at the controls, believes Michael Graff was piloting the aircraft at the time of the crash, given his long-time passion for flying.
NTSB investigator
Albert Nixon said the pilot 'reported a missed approach' and asked air traffic control for a new approach plan. Traffic controllers reached out to the pilot three additional times to relay a low altitude alert, but there was no response, Nixon said. No distress call was made from the plane.
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According to Federal Aviation Administration records, Michael Graff was certified to pilot commercial aircraft as well as private aircraft. He was required to wear glasses, records show.
His son, Jared, was a student pilot who was not authorized to fly a plane with passengers, records show.
The group left Westchester County Airport in New York on Saturday morning heading for Columbia County Airport near the Massachusetts border, NTSB safety board member Todd Inman said at a
Inman said investigators had acquired a video of the final seconds before the plane crashed that appears to show the 'aircraft was intact and crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground.'
Meri Avratin said Monday she had been at work for a couple hours on Saturday afternoon when numerous ambulances and police cars sped past her vintage clothing store along Route 23.
'I saw a lot of emergency vehicles go by, which when you live in a small community makes you nervous because it could easily be somebody that you know, because I've lived here forever,' said Avratin, 49.
Karenna Groff, the NCAA's Woman of the Year in 2022, earned a bachelor's degree in biological engineering in 2022 from MIT and a Master's degree in biological engineering the following year, according to Kimberly Allen, a university spokeswoman. Santoro earned a bachelor's degree in Finance in 2022, Allen said.
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'They were a wonderful family,' Santoro's father, John Santoro, told the Associated Press. '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.'
John said his son met Groff as a freshman at MIT. Santoro grew up in Tewksbury, N.J., and is a graduate of the Delbarton School. He was planning to propose to Groff this summer, the family said in the statement.
Karenna Groff was also a volunteer counselor at Camp Kesem at MIT, served as a teaching assistant for the university's department of biological engineering, and was a co-founder of
She was only the
In
'I was shocked,' she said. 'They had a gold envelope like it was the Golden Globes and they called my name. I was overwhelmed, and the first thing I said was, 'What am I going to say in the speech?''
At the ceremony, Groff was praised for her work in clinical research at Boston Children's Hospital, where she focused on the genetic basis of epilepsy with the hope of generating a new gene theory for children.
'I always want to give back,' Groff said in 2023. 'I feel like it's a responsibility I have.'
During her athletic career at MIT, Groff led her soccer team to four NCAA Division 3 tournaments as a two-time captain.
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In April 2023, Groff threw
She was a second-year student at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and was accepted to train in the neurosurgery program, according to Steve Ritea, a spokesperson for the school.
'She had already distinguished herself as a rising star inside and outside the classroom, with limitless possibilities on the horizon,' Ritea said. 'Karenna demonstrated exceptional skill and unwavering passion towards the care of patients and the mission of our institution.'
Michael Groff was pursuing an executive MBA at MIT's Sloan School of Management, according to Allen.
'Dr. Groff was a highly respected neurosurgeon and physician leader, known for his clinical excellence, compassionate care, and unwavering commitment to advancing the field of neuroscience,' Richard Davis, CEO of Rochester Regional Health, said in a statement.
Michael 'became a distinguished neurosurgeon' and was also 'an experienced pilot, who fell in love with flying after being taught by his father at the age of sixteen,' the family statement said.
Karenna Groff's mother, Jyot, who was known as Joy, was a pelvic surgeon and the founder of
Information about funerals and memorials will be forthcoming, according to the family.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report
.
John R. Ellement can be reached at