Liam Saranich | News Editor
Tragically on Sunday, September 8th a teenage girl taking flying lessons, from her high school aviation instructor, while her mother and an elderly man were also there. All passed away in a tragic plane crash, when flying from Windham, Connecticut, to Ferrisburgh Vermont, for brunch on Sunday, law enforcement officials made a state this past Monday.
The passengers were flying in a four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft that departed from Windham airport for a flight that typically takes around two hours. They had planned to land at Basin Harbor Airport around 8:30 A.M. for a brunch reservation at Basin Harbor, according to Vermont state police.
The high school student was Delilah Van Ness, who was 15, and her mother, 51-year-old Susan Van Ness, both from Middletown Connecticut. The instructor was 55-year-old Paul Pelletier, from Columbia Connecticut and 88-year-old Frank Rodriquez, of Lebanon, left their brunch outing shortly after noon and were expected to fly back to Connecticut on the same plane. Both Middletown police and Vermont State police said.
A witness from the airfield reported seeing the airplane on the runway track at about 12:15 P.M. but said that they never saw them take off. When the plane did not return to Connecticut on time, relatives of the victims started to make reports to the Middletown police department. According to Vermont officials, “No reports were received indicating an aircraft in distress or that a plane had crashed.”
The Federal Aviation Administration then used cellphone location data to determine the plane’s last known location was near the airstrip in Vermont. Middletown police then notified the Vermont State police at about 10:20 P.M. Sunday, prompting a large emergency search in that area around the airstrip.
With the help of a drone flown by the Middlebury police, the police stated that they found the aircraft's wreckage at about 12:20 A.M. Monday in a wooded area east of Basin Harbor airport. Sadley all four people on the plane were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The bodies of the victims were brought to Chief Medical Examiner's office in Burlington for autopsies to determine what had caused their deaths and when they had passed.
The Superintendent of the Middletown Public Schools made a statement. “Paul, Delilah, and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city.” The Middletown Police Department added, “Our sincerest condolences go out to the family, friends, and students who were affected by this tragedy.”
Comments