STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
Vermont State Police identifies victims of Ferrisburgh plane crash
FERRISBURGH, Vermont (Monday, Sept. 9, 2024) — The four victims of Sunday’s airplane crash near the Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh are identified as follows:
- 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.
Additionally, the City of Vergennes Fire Department responded initially to the scene. The department was identified incorrectly in a previous release and has been corrected below.
***Initial news release, 8:40 a.m. Monday, Sept. 9, 2024***
The Vermont State Police has recovered the bodies of four victims following an airplane crash in Addison County.
A preliminary investigation determined that the four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft had departed Windham Airport in Connecticut at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, for a flight of about two hours to Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh. Investigators determined the privately owned plane landed and the occupants arrived for a brunch reservation at Basin Harbor. The party departed the restaurant shortly after noon and were to fly back to Connecticut. A witness reported seeing the airplane on the runway at about 12:15 p.m.
No reports were received indicating an aircraft in distress or that a plane had crashed. 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 (Connecticut) 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 notified the Vermont State Police of the situation at about 10:20 p.m. Sunday. Troopers from the New Haven Barracks responded along with members of the Middlebury Police Department and the City of Vergennes Fire Department. With the assistance of a drone flown by Middlebury police, investigators located the wreckage of the aircraft at about 12:20 a.m. Monday in a wooded area to the east of the Basin Harbor Airport. First responders confirmed all four occupants were deceased.
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. Their identities are being withheld at this time pending further investigation and notification of relatives.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are the lead investigative agencies on the airplane crash. Questions about that aspect of this case should be directed to those agencies. VSP’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations is responsible for the death investigation.
This is an active and ongoing case, and no additional information is available from the Vermont State Police at this time. VSP will provide updates as the investigation continues.
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