WESTON, Mass. (Diya TV) — A devastating plane crash in Copake, New York, claimed the lives of six people on April 12, including four members of a highly accomplished Weston, Massachusetts family, leaving behind only one immediate survivor — 17-year-old Anika Groff, a senior at Weston High School, who was not on board.

The victims were identified as Dr. Michael Groff, 55, a respected neurosurgeon and executive director of neuroscience at Rochester Regional Health; his wife, Dr. Joy Saini, a urogynecologist and founder of Boston Pelvic Health and Wellness; their two adult children, Karenna and Jared Groff; Karenna’s boyfriend, James Santoro; and Jared’s partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte.

The family was flying to the Catskills to celebrate both Passover and Karenna’s 25th birthday when their Mitsubishi MU-2 twin-engine turboprop aircraft crashed into a muddy field near the Massachusetts border. The plane had departed from Westchester County Airport and was in the air for less than an hour before going down, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported.

Dr. Groff, who was piloting the aircraft, was known for his aviation experience as well as his medical career. A former leader of the neurosurgery spine division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Groff also served as an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and was pursuing an executive MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management at the time of his death, according to The Boston Globe.

Dr. Saini, originally from India, was a highly regarded pelvic surgeon who trained at the University of Pittsburgh, where she met her husband. She was known for her compassionate patient care and surgical skill as a member of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital medical staff.

Their daughter Karenna, an MIT graduate and former NCAA Woman of the Year, was in the early stages of her neurosurgery residency at NYU. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded openPPE, a nonprofit that designed personal protective equipment for frontline workers. Her boyfriend, James Santoro, also an MIT alum and New Jersey native, worked in finance and was reportedly planning to propose this summer, Boston 25 News reported.

Jared Groff, a 2022 Swarthmore College graduate, worked as a paralegal while preparing for law school. His partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, also a Swarthmore alum, had been accepted to Harvard Law School and was scheduled to begin classes this fall.

According to NTSB investigator Todd Inman, the crash occurred amid rapidly deteriorating weather. Speaking at a news briefing, Inman said the pilot had reported missing an initial approach to Columbia County Airport and requested new landing instructions. While air traffic controllers tried to relay a low-altitude alert multiple times, the pilot did not respond, and no distress call was issued. Investigators believe the aircraft was intact at the time of impact and crashed at a high rate of descent. Several inches of snow covered the ground at the crash site, Inman noted.

In a joint family statement, relatives remembered the victims as “six brilliant, dynamic, and loving people,” adding that “their lives ended far too soon.”

The loss has sent shockwaves through the Weston community and beyond. Tributes have poured in for the family, with James Santoro’s father, John, telling The Associated Press: “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.”

As investigations continue, Anika Groff faces the unimaginable task of navigating life without her parents and siblings. Weston Public Schools and the wider community have pledged their support for her in the difficult days ahead.