Swarthmore College alumni killed in upstate New York plane crash

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Federal aviation officials remain at the site of an upstate New York plane crash that killed six people Saturday, including three alumni of Swarthmore College and the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Alexia Couyutas Duarte, her boyfriend, Jared Groff and his father Michael Groff were identified by Swarthmore College in a statement Monday.

“In the face of such devastating news, we recognize and celebrate all that these extraordinary individuals meant to us, as well as support those who knew, mentored, and loved them,” the statement read. Michael Groff’s wife, Joy Saini, his daughter Karenna and her partner James Santoro were also killed.

Karenna Groff, who was celebrating her 25th birthday over the weekend, was named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year as a member of the MIT women’s soccer team and co-founded openPPE to create a new design of masks for essential workers.

“On behalf of everyone at Swarthmore, our hearts go out to the families and friends of those we lost on Saturday, and to everyone affected by their tragic passing. Please join us in sending them peace and light,” Swarthmore College said.

Michael Groff was piloting the Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 that left the Boston suburbs early Saturday. The National Transportation Safety Board said the plane was destroyed when it crashed in Copake, N.Y. near the Massachusetts state line.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane missed its approach to Columbia County Airport. Radar detected a low altitude alert leading air traffic controllers to try contacting the plane four times, but a distress call was never made. The crash occurred roughly 10 miles away from the airport. On Monday, Todd Inman with the NTSB said the twin-propeller turboprop plane requires “additional training” as it can run “close to jet speed” and Groff was “proficient” and completed training on Oct. 8, 2024.

“Our teams have been working around the clock to try to gather this information and put together the facts that will help us determine what caused this accident and of course help prevent such tragedies from happening again,” Inman said.

Inman said the elder Groff owned and operated the aircraft after purchasing it last year. He said of the NTSB’s initial review of the plane, “We feel comfortable that that plane should be flying.” Maintenance records across the entire lifespan of the aircraft will be reviewed.

“We’re pulling together every inspection, we will most likely talk to anyone who did work on that plane recently,” Inman said. “We will also talk to anyone who may have done any check rides or anything in regard to follow-up maintenance on it, but we were feeling good about the specificity of the information we’re receiving because of the sale that occurred last year.”

NTSB anticipates having a preliminary report ready within 30 days and a full investigative report within 12 to 24 months.

Swarthmore students can contact the college’s Counseling and Psychological Services or the Interfaith Center if they’re experiencing challenges following the accident. Faculty and staff members can use the Carebridge employee assistance program.