Family Mourns Mom, Toddler Killed In Plane Crash: 'I Love You So Much'

LONG ISLAND, NY — Almost one week after an East Hampton woman, her 2-year-old daughter, her nanny and their pilot died in a plane crash over rural Virginia, those left behind are sharing treasured memories of lives cut too short.

Adina Azarian, 49, and her toddler Aria, as well as their live-in nanny and their pilot, died aboard a private Cessna. The pilot of the plane has been identified as Jeff Hefner, according to the New York Post. Evadnie Smith was the live-in nanny for Azarian who died in the crash, according to reports. Originally from Jamaica, Smith helped care for Aria at her mother’s East Hampton home, according to the US Sun.

The plane sparked a response from fighter jets as it passed through restricted Washington, D.C., airspace Sunday, causing a sonic boom heard by scores. Azarian and her daughter were headed to their home in East Hampton.

And now, her broken-hearted family is left only with memories.

Steven White, Azarian's older brother, lives in Connecticut. Describing his sister, he said, "Aria was her whole world. She tried so hard to have her."

Adina, he said, was loved by so many. "There's a dichotomy here, because she was also very private," he said. "But once she trusted you, she'd give you the damned shirt off her back. She gave unconditionally."

After 9/11, White said, his sister created a non-profit to help the children of families who'd lost loved ones.

Adina, he said, was successful — but she worked hard to achieve all that she accomplished.

"I had the greatest respect for Adina," he said. "She graduated college and she started her real estate business, Adina Equities, from the closet of her dad's apartment in the city." Later, she moved on to Keller Williams in the Hamptons, he said, but whereve she worked, she inspired respect and admiration from her colleagues.

"The way she treated her employees, it was the way a family member would treat you," he said. "They loved her."

His sister, was able to create strong and lasting friendships and bonds.

That's why, he said, her sudden death was such a cruel shock.

"Everyone loses people in their lives, but to have lost them in this way — a lot of people literally found out on television," he said. While he knew his sister was traveling, when he heard about the plane flying through restricted airspace suddenly, the nightmare wasn't yet reality.

"When the released the names and the photos, my jaw hit the floor," he said.

In the days since her death, the outpouring from family, friends, and even strangers has been "staggering," White said.

Remembering his sister as a child, White was shy but also, friendly and playful, and always polite and good-natured.

As adults, the siblings made sure to make time for each other, visiting at least a few times a year.

"When Aria was born, my wife, son and I wanted to be in her life, which Adina welcomed with open arms," he said.

Aria, he said, was born during the pandemic — Adina gave birth alone in the hospital during COVID restrictions — and was initially shy with everyone but her mother and her beloved "Nanny V", Evadnie Smith. And she grew to adore White's son, Alexander, 15, he said.

The last time they visited recently, Aria walked right in and ran for the box of toys his family keeps for their Yorkie. And then, she ran to Alexander, and took his hand, White said.

His son is also grieving the loss of his aunt and cousin, White said.

"This is hard for him," he said. His wife's father has been ill and at first, White said when they sat him down Monday, he thought it was his grandfather who had passed away . "It was shocking for all of us," he said. "A month and a half ago, we were together."

There are two things that give him solace, White said — that his sister left on good terms with those she loved. And also, based on accounts given by aviation experts, if she did succomb to hypoxia, it's likely she and her daughter didn't suffer.

Also, White said, he feels there was a sign from his sister. "Monday night, I was in my kitchen. My son and wife were asleep. Adina came to me — I could hear her in my head — and said, 'You will be okay. We are okay.'"

He paused. "I thanked her and told her that I loved her," he said.

Another thing White wanted to stress was how important Nanny V,. who was hired by Adina the second that Aria was born, was to their family.

"Nanny V. wasn’t just the hired help," he said. "She didn't just she take care of Aria, she took care of Adina, too," he said.

Nanny V. "became part of the family as much as anyone else," White said. "Adina couldn't have done it without her."

Nanny V., White said, "was quite the cook. Her specialty was a plantain-based porridge," and now, his son plans to make it in her honor, he said.

His sister blossomed as a mother, White said. "She said to me once that she didn't want her only legacy to be her business. She wanted more from her life."

While at first his sister was nervous, like any new mom, she clearly adored her little girl. When Aria was born, White said, "her ability to nurture was magnified to a whole new level."

Azarian's biological mother, Christine Graham, who lives in Wilton, NH, also spoke with Patch. She thanked the many who've rallied to support her since the crash.

Of Adina, she said: "She was a wonderful daughter and friend. Just like my son Steve — if they weren't my son and daughter, I would still like them as people."

Graham echoed her son's words, describing Adina as a shy child, but also one who always made friends easily. And always, she was known for her huge and caring heart.

"As a young child, she was very caring about the needs of her classmates," she said. One girl, Graham said, was the child of a single mother who wasn't home after school. "One day, Adina had a thermos full of hot chocolate, sandwiches, and cookies for this little girl. She was that concerned and aware of others. And she was only 11 or 12."

Adina, she said, was "always caring about people, aware of what they needed and what was going on with them. "

Her voice filled with emotion, she added: "She was wonderful to me. I. miss her so much."

Graham said she and her daughter spoke every Sunday, and recently, shared Zooms. Graham always made sure to have a stuffed animal during the Zooms to delight Aria.

Watching her daughter become a mother brought Graham joy. "She was so happy to have Aria. She just lived for that child," she said.

Graham, too, finds comfort in knowing that it's likely her daughter, granddaughter, and Nanny V. didn't suffer.

Adina and Aria are together forever now, she said, adding that it was almost a blessing that if the worst had to happen, at least they were together. Adina, she said, "would not have recovered from losing Aria."

Graham is left with memories of summer days spent collecting shells on the beach in the Hamptons with her daughter and granddaughter.

"One time, we both found rocks that were heart-shaped," she said; she plans to have hers made into a necklace to hold close, forever.

Graham, who's been collecting shells and acorns for years, had planned to bring Aria when she was older to collect beach treasures, and then make arts and crafts. "That's not going to happen now," she said, her voice soft.

But, of her daughter, she said: "I’m grateful for the time that I did have with her."

Had she been given the chance to say good-bye to her daughter, Graham said she would have told her: "Adina, I’m so proud of you and what you've accomplished. You've touched so many poeple's lives. I love you so much."

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the June 4 crash of the Cessna 560 airplane near Montebello, Virginia. NTSB investigators arrived at the scene on Monday.

According to the NTSB, at about 3:30 p.m., the Cessna 560 airplane crashed in a mountain area. The airplane was unresponsive to air traffic control communications. The aircraft overflew its destination of Long Island MacArthur Airport and headed back down south toward Elizabethton, TN, where it had initially taken off, the NTSB said.

Air traffic control lost communication with the plane during its ascent, the NTSB said.

According to a statement released on Twitter by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, "in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, NORAD F-16 fighter aircraft responded to an unresponsive Cessna 560 Citation V aircraft over Washington, DC, and northern Virginia on June 4, 2023. The NORAD aircraft were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region."

NORAD said the FAA confirmed that the pilot did not respond to air traffic control instruction around 1:28 p.m. Subsequently, the NORAD pilots visually inspected the Cessna as it was still airborne and confirmed that the pilot was unresponsive. NORAD pilots described the Cessna pilot as being "slumped over."

NTSB said investigators have begun the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft. Part of the investigation will be to request radar data, weather information and maintenance records. NTSB investigators will look at the human, machine and environment as the outline of the investigation.

The preliminary report, which includes factual information learned to date, is expected to be published in three weeks, the NTSB said.

At such an early stage of an investigation, the NTSB said they do not state a cause, but will provide factual information when available. Investigations currently take between 12 and 24 months to complete, the NTSB said.

Preliminary information indicates the last communication attempt with the airplane was at about 1:28 p.m. At that time, the airplane was at 31,000 feet. The airplane eventually climbed to 34,000 feet, where it remained for the rest of the flight until 3:23 p.m. when it began to descend. The airplane crashed at approximately 3:32 p.m., the NTSB said.

The airplane overflew Long Island MacArthur Airport at 2:33 p.m. while at 34,000 feet.
NTSB investigators who arrived at the scene to examine the wreckage and document the scene had to hike to the location due to the heavily wooded and rural terrain; the wreckage is highly fragmented, NTSB said. Investigators said they were expected to be on scene for three to four days.

The wreckage will eventually be moved to a secure facility in Delaware, the NTSB said.

Experts have said it is likely a pressurization issue in the cabin led to hypoxia and loss of consciousness for the pilot and passengers.

Friends shared their heartbreak with Patch.

Friend Lakhinder Jit Singh Vohra wrote: "I just lost my best friend in the Hamptons."

Vohra told Patch he believed John and Barbara Rumpel, who were as close as family to Azarian, loved her like their daughter.

He also said his friend wanted to be a mother so badly that she pursued IVF to see that dream realized.

He mentioned that Azarian's family included her biological mom, sister, and brother, who were also rocked by loss.

Her baby was his friend's most precious dream. "She wanted a baby so much," he said.

Rumpel told the Post he adopted Azarian at age 40, years after losing his first daughter, Victoria, in a scuba diving accident when she was 19-years-old. Rumpel told The New York Times his daughter and grandchild were returning to their home in East Hampton after visiting his North Carolina home.

According to the Daily Mail, Barbara Rumpel, John's wife, posted on Facebook about the tragic loss. "'My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter,' Rumpel wrote in a Facebook comment," the Daily Mail reported.