A private jet carrying six people crashed in the open in New York on Saturday, killing everyone aboard, authorities say.
Former Massachusetts Technology Institute (MIT) Karena Grof, her parents and her brother were celebrated among those on board, said a family statement.
The National Transport Safety Council (NTSB) said the family was traveling for a holiday for the holiday when the crash happened.
A video of the final seconds of the flight received by employees showed that the aircraft was intact before colliding into the ground at a high downhill speed, NTSB said.
A joint family statement was identified by the victims as Karen Groff, her parents Dr. Michael Groff and Dr. Joy Sainy, her brother Jared Greff and his partner Alexia Kuitas Duarte and Karen's partner James Santoro.
“They were a wonderful family,” James' father, John Santoro, told the Associated Press.
“The world lost many very good people who would do very good for the world if they had the opportunity. We are all personally devastated.”
Karena, a former athlete, was named Woman of the Year by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2022, her senior year.
She graduated from MIT, where she met with James and was enrolled in a medical school at New York University (NYU), the family said.
Her parents were also prominent doctors while her brother Jared worked as a parallel, and his partner Alexia was about to join the Harvard Law Faculty.
“Karena demonstrates exceptional skills and unwavering passion for patients and the mission of our institution. We will remember her because of her warmth, her grace, her kindness, her exceptional achievements and the pure joy she brought to our community,” a NYU spokesman said.
An article by the New York Times identifies the pilot of the aircraft such as Karena's father, Dr. Grof, who was “experienced” according to a family statement. The report that it was a ceased with the crashed aircraft was not publicly confirmed by family or authorities.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, NTSB employee Todd Inman said the double engine Mitsubishi MU-2B was “compressed, fastened and embedded in the field” on a mud agricultural field near Krivil, New York.
The crash happened around noon when the family headed for the Airport of Colombia.
Inman added that air traffic control tried to contact the pilot several times, but did not receive a call for response or disaster.
The pilot flew according to the rules of the instrument flight, not in the rules of visual flights, he said, adding that it was too early to determine whether the reduced visibility from meteorological conditions was a factor.
Inman said that the aircraft has a modernized pilot cabin with more technology, certified to the standards for Federal Aviation Administration.
An investigation is underway and a probable cause of the crash in the latest NTSB report will be set after 12 to 24 months.
This comes just days after six people including a family of Spanish tourists, died in a helicopter crash in New YorkS