Vermont Plane Crash: 4 Dead, 15-Year-Old Student & Teacher tragic plane crash in Vermont on Sunday, September 8, 2024, claimed the lives of four Connecticut residents, including a 15-year-old teenage girl and her mother, her high school aviation instructor, and an 88-year-old veteran. The incident occurred after the group had flown to Vermont for a brunch outing.
Vermont State Police reported that a four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft departed from Windham Airport in Connecticut around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. The flight, lasting approximately two hours, brought the passengers to Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, where they had a brunch reservation at the nearby Basin Harbor resort.
The victims have been identified as:
Delilah Van Ness, 15, a sophomore at Middletown High School
Susan Van Ness, 51, Delilah’s mother
Paul Pelletier, 55, an aerospace and manufacturing teacher at Middletown High School
According to authorities, the group finished their meal shortly after noon and prepared to return to Connecticut. A witness reported seeing the airplane on the runway at about 12:15 p.m., but it was never observed taking off. When the plane failed to return to Connecticut as expected, relatives of the occupants alerted law enforcement. After an extensive search, the wreckage was located around 12:20 a.m. Monday in a wooded area east of Basin Harbor Airport. All four occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.
In response to this tragedy, Middletown High School will be closed on Tuesday, and fall athletic events will be rescheduled. Crisis teams and support staff will be available during normal school hours to assist students and staff affected by this loss. Dr. Alberto Vázquez Matos, Superintendent of Middletown Public Schools, expressed the community’s grief, stating, “This unimaginable loss has left a void in our hearts and our community. Paul, Delilah, and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city.”
