Former NCAA woman of the year, 5 other family members killed in upstate New York plane crash

The 2022 recipient of the prestigious NCAA woman of the year award, a former soccer player at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was one of the six victims killed in a plane crash in upstate New York on Saturday, according to a statement from her family.

Karenna Groff, a medical student at NYU Langone in the department of neurosurgery and a former soccer star at MIT, died when a twin-engine turboprop plane crashed 10 miles from the Columbia County Airport near the town of Copake, New York, on Saturday afternoon.

Five others — including Groff’s partner, James Santoro — died in the crash, the family said.

“He was most looking forward to proposing to his love, Karenna, this summer,” the family said in a statement provided to ABC News.

Only one woman each year is chosen as the NCAA woman of the year, with three finalists each from Divisions I, II and III. The honor has been given since 1991 and includes winners such as Basketball Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo (1995), Olympic gold medal swimmer Kimberly Black (2001) and three-time Olympian triple jumper Keturah Orji (2018).

The passengers who died were all members of Groff’s family, including Groff’s parents, Joy Saini and Michael Groff; her brother, Jared Groff; and his partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, the family said.

Joy Saini was a pelvic surgeon and Michael Groff was a neurosurgeon, as their daughter was training to be, according to the family.

“We will remember them as the six brilliant, dynamic and loving people that they were,” the family said. “The families ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

The family said information regarding funerals and memorials will be forthcoming.

During a press briefing on Sunday, the National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot reported a “missed approach” and “requested vectors for another approach.” Officials said as the pilot was coming back around, “the radar indicated a low altitude alert.”

An air traffic controller attempted to “relay this low altitude alert” and tried to contact the pilot three additional times, but was unsuccessful, according to the NTSB’s lead investigator for this incident, Albert Nixon.

“There was no response from the pilot and there was no distress call,” Nixon said.

The aircraft, which had departed from the Westchester County Airport bound for the Columbia County Airport, crashed “at a high rate of descent” in a “flat agricultural field,” the NTSB said. This was the plane’s second flight of the day

Authorities would not say who was flying the plane, but the family statement noted Michael Groff was “an experienced pilot, who fell in love with flying after being taught by his father at the age of sixteen.”

During a press briefing on Monday afternoon, the NTSB said the pilot, who was also the owner of the plane, was required to undergo additional training along with having a pilots license, which was completed in October 2024.

Officials also stated there were “deteriorating weather conditions” near the scene of the crash.

The NTSB will remain on site for the next five days to collect all the “perishable material” and a preliminary report on the investigation will be available in the next 30 days.

Groff was a captain for MIT’s Division III soccer team and finished her career second all-time in goals and points at the school. She was a second-team All-American as a junior and a third-team All-American in her final season.

ABC News’ Ayesha Ali and Emme Marchese contributed to this report