4 Victims ID'd After Connecticut-Bound Plane Crashes In Vermont

FERRISBURGH, VT — The four victims whose bodies have been recovered after a Connecticut-bound plane crashed in Vermont Sunday morning have been identified, Vermont State Police said Monday.

The victims who died in the crash are as follows, according to police:

• Paul Pelletier, 55, of Columbia, Connecticut.
• Frank Rodriquez, 88, of Lebanon, Connecticut.
• Susan Van Ness, 51, of Middletown, Connecticut.
• Delilah Van Ness, 15, of Middletown, Connecticut.

A preliminary investigation determined that the four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft departed Windham Airport in Connecticut at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday for a flight of about two hours to Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, according to police.

Delilah Van Ness, daughter of Susan Van Ness, was taking flight lessons with Pelletier, according to the Middletown Police Department. They were accompanied by Rodriguez.

"Middletown Public Schools is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of three of its community’s beloved members in a plane crash that occurred this past weekend in Vermont. Paul Pelletier, the remarkable Aerospace and Manufacturing teacher at Middletown High School, Delilah Van Ness, a cherished Middletown High School Sophomore, and her mother, Susan Van Ness, were aboard the small plane that crashed. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the Vermont State Police," Middletown school officials said in a statement.

See related: Middletown Mourning Loss Of Residents, Teacher Killed In Plane Crash

"I am devastated to learn the news about this plane crash that took the lives of four Connecticut residents. My heart breaks for the loss of Paul, Frank, Susan, and Delilah and I send my sincerest condolences to their loved ones," said Gov. Ned Lamont.

The privately-owned plane landed and the occupants arrived for a brunch reservation at Basin Harbor, after which the party left the restaurant shortly after noon and were set to fly back to Connecticut, police said.

A witness reported seeing the airplane on the runway at about 12:15 p.m., according to police.

"No reports indicated an aircraft in distress or a plane had crashed," police said. "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 Police Department. Those agencies worked with the Federal Aviation Administration and used cellphone location data to determine the plane’s last known location was near the airstrip in Vermont."

Middletown police officers notified Vermont State Police of the situation at 10:20 p.m. Sunday. Troopers from multiple departments responded, using a drone to locate the plane's wreckage in a wooded area to the east of the Basin Harbor Airport around 12:20 a.m. Monday.

First responders confirmed all four occupants were deceased, police said.

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.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are the lead investigative agencies on the airplane crash, while Vermont State Police's Bureau of Criminal Investigations is handling the death investigation.