A twin-engined plane has crashed into a muddy field in upstate New York, leaving all six passengers aboard dead.
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The plane, a Mitsubishi MU-2B, was reported down at noon on Saturday in Copake, New York, around 48km (30 miles) from its destination at Columbia County Airport.
Columbia County Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore on Saturday confirmed the crash was fatal.
“It’s in the middle of a field and it’s pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult,” Salvatore said during a news conference near the scene, about 80km (50 miles) south of Albany.
The private plane was carrying a family of doctors and distinguished recent student-athletes, bound for a trip to the Catskills for a birthday celebration and the Passover holiday.
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Among the victims were Karenna Groff, a former MIT football player named the 2022 NCAA woman of the year; her father, neuroscientist Michael Groff; her mother, urogynecologist Joy Saini and Karenna Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro, another recent MIT graduate, according to James’ father, John Santoro.