SIDNEY, NY — The National Transportation Safety Board has released initial information in connection with a Sunday plane crash in upstate New York that killed five members of a family including two young boys.
The single-engine Piper was scheduled to make a refueling stop at West Virginia International Yeager Airport in Charleston Sunday afternoon but never made it there.
The victims have been identified as pilot, maternal grandfather, Roger Beggs, 76, mother, Laura VanEpps, 43, father, Ryan VanEpps, 42, and sons, James R. VanEpps,12, Harrison VanEpps, 10. They lived in Georgia and were in Cooperstown, New York for a youth baseball tournament. They were heading home to Georgia.
NTSB investigators, who arrived at the crash scene near Sidney, New York Monday afternoon, said the plane’s flight tracking data was lost 12 minutes after takeoff from the airport in Oneonta, New York.
“The plane crashed near the area of Trout Creek,” the NTSB said. “Meteorological data shows storm activity along the flight path.”
The debris path stretched for about a mile and the NTSB said all major parts of the plane have been recovered except for the rudder.
Investigators were set to move the plane from the crash site to another facility Tuesday for further evaluation.
The NTSB plans to issue a preliminary report in 30 days. Investigators likely won’t have a final report for about a year. The investigation will focus on the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.