The grieving father of an MIT grad who was killed in a horror plane crash in upstate New York says his family’s suffering has only just begun following the tragedy that killed a family of doctors and athletes. 

‘Their suffering is over. Ours has just begun,’ John Santoro said about his son James Santoro and his girlfriend Karenna Groff, who were killed when their private jet went down on Saturday in a field in Copake, killing all six on board.

Karenna’s father, neuroscientist Dr. Michael Groff, her mother, urogynecologist Dr. Joy Saini, and brother Jared Groff were also killed, as was Jared’s partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte.

‘Still couldn’t believe it was true. I still don’t believe it’s true,’ John Santoro told Boston 25 News. 

Santoro said his son first met Karenna as a freshman studying at MIT, and planned to engage this summer, according to Santoro.

Karenna, who grew up in Massachusetts,  was a soccer player studying biomedical engineering. James, a math major from New Jersey, played lacrosse for MIT.

‘Karenna was a fantastic person,’ Santoro said. ‘And after you met her parents, it became pretty clear where she got it from.’

MIT grads James Santoro and his girlfriend Karenna Groff were killed in the plane crash 

The plane crash victims were identified as Karenna Groff (middle left), a former MIT soccer player, her boyfriend and MIT graduate James Santoro (right), Karenna’s father and neuroscientist Dr. Michael Groff (left), as well as her mother and urogynecologist Dr. Joy Saini (middle right)

James was a math major from New Jersey and played lacrosse for the school.

After graduating, the pair moved into Manhattan where Karenna enrolled in New York University’s medical school and James worked as an investment associate for Silver Point.

‘They were a wonderful family,’ John Santoro told AP. ‘The world lost a lot of very good people who were going to do a lot of good for the world if they had the opportunity. We’re all personally devastated.’

‘The 25 years we had with James were the best years of our lives,’ he added, ‘and the joy and love he brought us will be enough to last a lifetime.’

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Karenna Groff co-founded openPPE, helping to create a new design of masks for essential workers. In 2023, she received the prestigious NCAA woman of the year award for the previous year for her on- and off-field accomplishments. 

Karenna’s mother, India-born Saini, was an accomplished pelvic surgeon and the founder of Boston Pelvic Health and Wellness, according to a family statement. She trained in medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where she met Michael Groff, who became a distinguished neurosurgeon and experienced pilot, the statement said.  

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Karenna co-founded openPPE, which helped create a new design for essential workers in need of masks. Then, in 2023, she received the NCAA woman of the year award for 2022 in recognition of her accomplishments

The private plane the group was traveling on was on the way to the Catskills for a birthday and Passover celebration.

Shortly before the crash, the pilot had radioed air traffic control at Columbia County Airport to say he had missed the initial approach and requested a new approach plan, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said at a Sunday briefing.

While preparing the new coordinates, air traffic controllers attempted to relay a low altitude alert three times, with no response from the pilot and no distress call, officials said. 

Investigators obtained video of the final seconds of the flight, which ‘appears to show that the aircraft was intact and crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground,’ NTSB official Todd Inman told reporters.