4 days Ago By People
The weather worsened in the moments before an airplane crashed into an upstate New York muddy field last week , killing all 6 on board, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. At a news conference on Monday, April 14, investigators gave an update on their investigation into the crash , which took place near the town of Copake around 12:15 p.m.
local time, on Saturday, April 12. NTSB member Todd Iman noted that the automated weather at Columbia County Airport in Hudson — where the plane was heading towards — was recorded four minutes prior to the actual accident and indicated a minimum ceiling of 400 feet AGL (above ground level). According to the FAA, the term " ceiling " refers to the "lowest layer of clouds reported as being broken or overcast, or the vertical visibility into an obscuration like fog or haze.
" Related: Former NCAA Star Karenna Groff and Family Were Going to Celebrate Her 25th Birthday When They Died in Plane Crash “What we can say is weather was at the time what we consider to be deteriorating,” Inman told reporters. “At 400 feet AGL for that approach at that airport, it would be at the minimum for a landing under an IFR [instrument flight rules] approach,” he added. “So the 400 feet ceiling would be the minimum for that type of landing on that approach at that time.
” Related: Tour Company Involved in Deadly Hudson River Helicopter Crash Is Shutting Down Immediately: FAA The victims have been identified as Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player who was named the 2022 NCAA woman of the year, her parents, Dr. Michael Groff and Dr. Joy Saini, as well as her brother Jared, according to the Associated Press , USA Today , and Boston.
com . Groff’s partner, James Santoro, and her brother Jared’s partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, also died in the crash. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“They were a wonderful family,” James’ father, John Santoro, told the AP. “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 told the AP that the group was on Michael's private plane and that funeral arrangements are underway. Related: A Teen Girl and 2 Men Identified as the Victims in the Boca Raton Plane Crash, Which Also Injured 1 Man on the Ground At Monday’s NTSB news briefing, Inman said the investigation is still in the early stages and that they still don't know what caused the crash. “Our objective is not just to find out what happened,” he said, “but why it happened, so we can make recommendations so this does not happen again.
We’re not going to be speculating about what may have caused the accident.” When reached by PEOPLE on Tuesday, April 15, the NTSB said they likely won't be releasing any additional information until their preliminary report is ready, which should be within 30 days. Read the original article on People.
