Former MIT soccer star, entrepreneur among victims in deadly small plane crash

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The National Transportation Safety Board continues their investigation Monday into what caused a small plane to crash in upstate New York, killing six people.

And among the victims, a former NCAA Woman of the Year player from Massachusetts.

Karenna Groff and several members of her family died when their twin-engine plane went down south of Albany near the Massachusetts state line on Saturday.

According to the Associated Press, the victims were traveling to the Catskills for a birthday celebration and Passover holiday.

Karenna Groff was a former MIT soccer player of the year who co-founded openPPE, creating new face mask designs for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She was also named 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Her father Dr. Michael Groff, was a neuroscientist and her mother, Dr. Joy Saini was a urogynecologist.

Karenna Groff’s boyfriend James Santoro, a recent MIT graduate, was also on board.

The crash took place shortly after noon on Saturday in a muddy field near the Massachusetts line.

Authorities said Karenna’s father was flying the plane when it went down.

“We have recovered and obtained at this point a video of the actual crash in the final seconds,” said NTSB head J. Todd Inman.

“The video, as we’ve seen just in the last hour, we were able to retain a high-quality version, appears to show that the aircraft was intact. And crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground.”

Air traffic controllers attempted to relay a low altitude alert three times with no response.

The NTSB is investigating the incident with a full report expected in 12 to 24 months.