Plane Crash in Massachusetts
About 700 plane crashes have happened in the United States in the past ten years. This figure highlights the danger flying entails. A recent crash that made national news startled everyone in Massachusetts.
Overview of the Incident
On a private plane that crashed over upstate New York over the weekend, a close-knit family of doctors and a well-known recent student-athlete were on board. Traveling to the Catskills for a birthday celebration and the Passover holiday, they were
According to James’ father, John Santoro, the victims were former MIT soccer player Karenna Groff, her mother, urogynecologist Dr. Joy Saini, and her boyfriend, James Santoro, who had recently graduated from MIT. Her father, Dr. Michael Groff, studies neurobiology. Read More
Time and Location of the Crash and Aircraft Details
Just after noon on Saturday, the twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B crashed in a muddy field in Copake, New York, near the Massachusetts border, killing authorities and a family member among the six people on board.
Impact on Families and Friends
Santoro stated, “They were a great family.” “The world lost many good people who would have done great things for the world if they had the chance.” “We are all deeply saddened.”
Santoro said that his son met Groff for the first time when he was a student at MIT. Biomedical engineering major Groff grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, and was an All-American soccer player. He is from New Jersey and is a math major. Santoro played lacrosse for the school.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Groff helped to make a new design of masks for critical workers by co-founding openPPE. She won the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award in 2023 for her work on and off the field those previous years.
“Really, this award is a tribute to my MIT women’s soccer family and all the help, support, and friendship they have given me over the years,” she said at the time in an interview.
Groff went to medical school at New York University after finishing, and Santoro worked as an investment associate for Silver Point, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut. At that time, the two of them moved to Manhattan.
John Santoro says that on Saturday morning, they went to an airport in White Plains, which is a neighborhood of New York City, and got on Michael Groff’s private plane.
They were going to land at Columbia County Airport, but they crashed about 32 kilometers (20 miles) to the south.
At a news conference on Saturday, Columbia County Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore said, “It’s in the middle of a field and it’s pretty muddy, so it’s hard to get to.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has started an investigation, and they will likely provide a report on Sunday evening. Santoro stated that preparations were underway for the funeral.
“The 25 years we spent with James were the best of our lives,” he said. “The love and happiness he brought us will last forever.”