Investigators outline final moments of plane crash that killed former college soccer star and family
Federal investigators are outlining the final moments of a plane crash last month in upstate New York that killed a family from Massachusetts heading to the Catskills to celebrate a birthday and the Passover holiday.
The victims of the April 12 crash in Copake, New York, included Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player named the 2022 NCAA woman of the year; her physician parents, Dr. Michael Groff and Dr. Joy Saini; her brother, Jared Groff, and his partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte; and Karenna Groff's boyfriend, James Santoro.
The National Transportation Safety Board, in a preliminary report issued Friday, said the private plane departed Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, at around 11:30 a.m. heading north to Columbia County Airport in Hudson.
Piloted by Michael Groff, the plane had left the Boston suburbs early Saturday morning, picking up Karenna Groff and Santoro in White Plains before making the short trip to the Catskills to celebrate Karenna Goff's 25th birthday.
But at about 11:57 a.m., Michael Groff informed air traffic control that he'd missed the initial approach to the runway at Columbia County Airport, according to the report. The controller then gave him new instructions for the landing, which Groff acknowledged a little after 12 p.m.
About a minute later, though, the controller warned Groff the plane was flying at a low altitude, the report states. The pilot never responded, and, despite multiple warnings, air traffic control received no further radio transmissions from the plane until radar contact was eventually lost.
The Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 crashed in snow covered terrain roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the airport.
Investigators didn't provide an exact cause of the crash in the preliminary report.
But they noted that all major components of the aircraft found within a 150-foot debris field and that no significant weather advisories were in effect in the region at the time of the crash.
NTSB officials have previously said overcast conditions may have impacted the pilot's visibility and that an initial investigation had not turned up any issues with the aircraft.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Holidaying Brits warned ‘don't drink beer' in Spain as 42C African heat plume strikes – map shows scorched resorts
BRITS holidaying in Spain have been warned not to the drink the beer amid a scorching 42-degree heatwave from Africa. Areas of the country roasted under extreme heat over the weekend - and the balmy temperatures look set to stay. 6 6 6 Some spots were so hot the state forecaster, Aemet, was forced to issue weather warnings. Yellow and amber alerts came into force on Sunday - with Sevilla, Cordoba and Jaen in the south worst affected. Emergency guidance was issued to tourists and locals alike advising them on how to stay safe when it's sweltering. One suggestion likely unpopular with Brits on their hols was to avoid alcohol, because it has a dehydrating effect on the body. The advice is to drink water often, even if you're not thirsty, and avoid both alcohol and caffeine. It was also recommended to "dress smart", which means wearing loose-fitting clothes - particularly cotton or linen if possible. Lighter colours reflect the sun so can help you to stay cool. Another point is to simply stay indoors during times of peak temperatures, and certainly to avoid any strenuous activity under the sun. The authorities also issued a reminder about the signs of heatstroke, so people know when they need to find help. Fatigue, dizziness, headaches, confusion and nausea are all common symptoms of heatstroke which, in severe cases, can be fatal. Houses should be shuttered up during the day, it was advised, but and vents opened at night to allow a cooling airflow. And finally, people were urged to keep a close eye on anyone vulnerable. The elderly, people with chronic illnesses or those living alone are particularly at risk of heat-related complications, so communities were encouraged to work together to check in on them. There was a special mention for tourists, who are more likely to end up in hospital during heatwaves than seasoned locals. The culprit behind the immense heat was a plume of hot air which blew over from north Africa. Once it reached Spain, the air stayed hot thanks to clear skies and atmospheric stability, Aemet explained. Monday was predicted to bring more of the same the heat, with some areas again expected to top 40 degrees. The thermometer is predicted to remain high through this week, and above average for the rest of June. And there is also expected to be less rain than usual, meaning it will be dry all round for the country. However, there could be a temporary let-up from localised mid-week storms in the northwest and centre of the country. This follows a particularly hot May, with many locations seeing record-breaking temperatures - particularly in southern and western areas of Spain. 6 6 6
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Terrifying moment lightning bolt strikes trees just metres from girl, 6, sending screaming kids scrambling for shelter
THIS is the terrifying moment a lightning bolt strikes just meters behind an unsuspecting six-year-old girl. The mammoth bolt struck trees in Southern California, as a shocked mom and her two kids dashed for cover. 3 3 3 Tiffanie Buckner was filming the approaching storm before heading inside with her children on Tuesday. In the shocking video, Penelope, 6, is seen nonchalantly standing in front of the camera. Suddenly, a massive lightning bolt strikes trees in the yard of the house across the street. Penelope, her mom and brother let out an instant scream. The startled children can be seen sprinting towards their mom. Buckner told Storyful: 'It was different than the normal lightning we receive that just lights up the sky.' She explained that she had wanted to show her mother and husband the weather. But what started off as innocent weather-watching, soon took a more sinister turn. 'The sound was so loud and immediate that it made us all jump and sent the kids in running," Buckner said. Though shaken at first, Penelope apparently quickly forgot the scare and even asked to go back outside once the rain began. Lightning strikes a British family-of-four living on a boat - 'There was a big flash of white light. It was everywhere, it was like we were inside it' Her mom said: 'Of course, the answer was no. 'But kids were OK and loved the storm and have an amazing story to tell.' Penelope told local news station NBC 4: 'It was amazing, but it scared me a little bit." The strike hit a tree in the yard of the family's neighbor Keith Fulthorp. 'It was loud, shook the house. Like an earthquake," he told NBC 4. His daughter Alena said: 'We just felt like the whole house shaking.' Both trees struck caught fire, but luckily the rain quickly put it out, Fulthorp said. One tree was split down the middle, while the other suffered serious damage, he added. Thunderstorms are rare in Southern California, with fewer than 10 days a year seeing reported lightning. The violent weather phenomenon is more common in England - with lightning reported on dozens of days each year, especially during summer months. Just last month, a house in Chichester, England caught fire after a lightning strike during sweeping thunderstorms across the country. Shocking photos show smoke streaming from the roof of the property.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
How Tynemouth surfer brothers sruvived rip current terror
On Saturday 17 May, two brothers got caught in a terrifying rip current at a popular surfing beach in north-east England. They hope sharing their experience will save lives. It was a great day for a surf, with 5ft-high swells sweeping along the shore at 21, and Andrew, 19, were among the dozens dotting the breaking blue waves at Longsands that they rented their boards from a hire centre at the beach, the pair from Gateshead were advised of the safest spots to unwittingly, they were being blown by a northerly wind towards a rip current, a permanent fixture beside the lido at the southern end of the mile-long the time they realised, it was too late. Andrew was the first to get caught, he had stayed out on the water while his brother went ashore to get a different surfboard."I did not really know what was going on," Andrew says. "I was going full pelt and not getting anywhere."When Euan returned, he instantly saw his younger brother was in trouble and went out to try and help him, getting himself caught in the current."It was like trying to swim on a treadmill," Euan, 21, matter how hard he swam, he found himself and his brother being pulled out to sea by the quickly realised how serious their situation was, and it became even more perilous when they began to get separated. While each was struggling to keep themselves afloat, they also had the added fear of not knowing what was happening to the other, as they disappeared from each other's first urge was to panic and swim as hard as they could to get out of their predicament."I could hear myself panicking but I just knew that would not help me," Euan called at his brother to "just chill", which they laugh about staying calm became key to their survival, the pair remembering the lessons taught to them by their father years before at their local swimming calm and float on your back, conserve energy. Andrew was being bombarded by the breaking waves, tumbling in the tumultuous North he was thrust close to the rocks, which he was able to make a quick burst for and haul himself up on Euan was too far away and being pulled further out to had seen his brother get out to safety, flooding him with relief, his attention now turning solely to his own predicament."I was completely helpless," Euan recalls. "I was just very aware no matter how hard or long I swam there was no chance of me fighting this."Neither really knows how long the ordeal lasted or how far they travelled, but it felt like a long time and a long distance. They both say they had "pretty scary" and "dark" thoughts during their struggle, principally about what had happened to the members of the public, including a 10-year-old boy, saw what was happening and called for RNLI Cullercoats team was paged at 12:09 BST, and 11 minutes later four crew members were aboard their boat Daddy's Girl, bursting out into Cullercoats bay and down the minutes later they found struggles to describe the relief he felt seeing the bright orange boat bearing down on him."That was a great feeling," he says. He was hauled over the inflatable side and taken back to the Cullercoats lifeboat station to be checked over and treated with a bag of gummy had not realised how cold he was until the paramedics started to look him station's operations manager drove him back to Tynemouth for a reunion with his brother."We gave each other a big hug," Euan says. Andrew, who was already out of his wetsuit and into his clothes, recalled the relief he felt at seeing his brother tempered by the soggy embrace from Euan's pair drove home in a daze, Andrew putting I Will Survive on the car's radio."We were in shock," Euan agrees: "I do not think either of us processed what we had been through." The rip current that caught them is a near permanent feature of Longsands, caused by the North Sea surging past the 1920s-built concrete is, according to the RNLI, "topographically constrained", while other rip currents can also regularly form along the currents can reach speeds of 5mph and pull anyone caught in them out to can be difficult to spot but are "sometimes identified by a channel of churning, choppy water on the sea's surface", the RNLI currents are the number one source for lifeguard call-outs, Geoff Cowan, the RNLI Cullercoats safety advisor is full of praise for the brothers, first for their actions in the moment and secondly for speaking out about it afterwards in a bid to boost awareness of the perils of rip currents and what to do if caught in one. Advice if caught includes to not try and swim against the current, but rather try and head parallel to the shore until free from its brothers had several things in their favour, Geoff says, including being young and fit and, crucially, they were wearing wetsuits, which provided invaluable buoyancy also followed the Float to Live protocols, advice issued by the RNLI to prevent drowning."We want people to enjoy the water but be mindful of what can go wrong and what to do if it does," Geoff says. Additional advice includes carrying a phone in waterproof pouch and using the SafeTtrx app, which would quickly enable the RNLI to locate those in the side button on a mobile phone five times will also start a 999 call, Geoff brothers are yet to return to the sea, but they have been to the Cullercoats station with their family to thank those who came to their aid."We are really pleased to see them both," Geoff says. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
