Four people have died after a small plane crashed in Vermont.
On Sunday, Sept. 8, a “four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft departed Windham Airport in Connecticut at about 8:30 a.m.” local time before heading to Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh, Vt., a news releaseshared by the Vermont State Police confirmed.
The four people — now identified as Paul Pelletier, 55, of Columbia, Conn.; Frank Rodriguez, 88, of Lebanon, Conn., and Susan Van Ness, 51, and her daughter Delilah Van Ness, 15, of Middletown, Conn. — headed to brunch at Basin Harbor before heading back to Connecticut shortly after noon, the release added.
However, the plane failed to arrive and investigators found the wreckage at around 12:20 a.m. in a wooded area to the east of the Basin Harbor Airport on Monday, Sept. 9. All four occupants were found deceased, police confirmed.
Delilah Van Ness.
Middletown High School
“A witness reported seeing the airplane on the runway at about 12:15 p.m.,” the release stated.
“No reports were received indicating an aircraft in distress or that a plane had crashed. However, after the plane failed to return to Connecticut as expected, relatives of the occupants reported the situation to the Connecticut State Police and the Middletown (Connecticut) Police Department,” authorities added in the release. “Those agencies worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and used cellphone location data to determine the plane’s last known location was near the airstrip in Vermont.”
“The bodies of the victims were brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for autopsies to determine the cause and manner of death,” police further explained.
Four have died after a small plane crashed in Vermont on Sept. 8, 2024.
WFSB 3/Youtube
Victim Delilah Van Ness was a sophomore student at Middletown High School, while Paul Pelletier was an Aerospace and Manufacturing teacher at the establishment. The school paid tribute to the victims in a statement on Monday.
“This unimaginable loss has left a void in our hearts and our community,” Dr. Alberto Vázquez Matos, Superintendent of Middletown Public Schools, said. “Paul, Delilah and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city.”
The message confirmed the school would be closed on Tuesday, Sept. 10, and that support was available for those who needed it.
The City of Middletown Police Department said in a news release that Delilah had been “taking flight lessons” with Pelletier, and “they were accompanied” by Rodriguez.
Per ABC affiliate WTNH, Rodriguez “was a World War II Veteran and flew planes.”
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed an investigation was underway when contacted
