Plane Crashes in NY: 6 Dead Including Punjab-Origin Surgeon and Family

New York (The Uttam Hindu): A small plane crashed in New York state of America. 6 people including a surgeon of Punjab origin, her husband and two children died tragically in the accident. The accident happened on Saturday, just before landing at Columbia County Airport.

The surgeon was identified as Dr. Joy Saini, a urogynecologist and female pelvic reconstructive surgeon. She was accompanied by her husband Michael Groff, daughter Karena Groff, son Jared Groff and their respective partners James Santoro and Alexia Quiutas Duarte on board the plane. The pilot of the plane was the surgeon's husband.

The plane, a Mitsubishi MU2B, took off from Westchester Airport in a suburb of New York City and was scheduled to land at Columbia County Airport, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator Albert Nixon said at a press conference on Sunday.

He said the pilot missed the first landing and asked for permission for a second attempt. But air traffic control found the plane flying unusually low and tried to send an alert, but the pilot failed to respond. The plane crashed about 10 miles from the airport, near the Massachusetts state border.

According to a family statement, Michael Groff was a neurosurgeon and experienced pilot. He had a passion for flying since childhood, learning to fly from his father at the age of 16.

His daughter Karena Groff was a medical student and her partner James Santoro was an investment banker. Son Jared Groff and his partner Alexia, a law student, also died in this tragic accident. Dr. Saini and Groff's another daughter Anika and Saini's mother Kuljit Singh survived the accident.

Let us tell you that this is the second plane crash in America in three days. Earlier on Friday, a Cessna 310 plane crashed in South Florida, killing three people. On Thursday, a helicopter carrying a Spanish family crashed in the Hudson River near Manhattan, killing all six people including the pilot.