Student Pilot, 15, Among Four Dead In Vermont Crash
Student’s mother and high school aerospace teacher and a passenger also killed.
Four people, including a 15-year-old student pilot, were killed in the crash of a Piper Arrow 180 at Basin Harbor Airport, a grass strip in Ferrisburg, Vermont, on Sunday. The aircraft crashed in a wooded area shortly after takeoff just after noon and the student, Delilah Van Ness, her mother Susan Van Ness, her high school flight instructor Paul Pelletier and passenger Frank Rodriguez were found dead at the scene about 12 hours after the crash. “No reports were received indicating an aircraft in distress or that a plane had crashed,” Vermont State Police noted in a news release.
The group flew to Basin Harbor that morning from Middletown, Connecticut, for brunch. After leaving the restaurant, the aircraft was reportedly seen on the runway at Basin Harbor, but no one has reported seeing it take off. According to Boston25 News, Delilah Van Ness got her student pilot certificate as a student in Pelletier's aerospace and manufacturing class at Middletown High School, but it's not clear how many hours she had or whether she was flying on Sunday. Pelletier was an occasional contributor to our sister publication Aviation Consumer and our condolences go out to all the families of the victims.
