Four Connecticut residents, including a teenager taking flying lessons, were killed in a plane crash in Vermont over the weekend, authorities said.

The four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft departed from Windham Airport in Connecticut at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday for a short flight to Ferrisburgh where those onboard stopped for a brunch reservation at Basin Hill, according to Vermont State Police.

The party of four left the restaurant shortly after noon to fly back to Connecticut, leaving the Basin Harbor Airport around 12:15 p.m.

While no reports were received about an aircraft in distress or plane crash, the plane failed to return back to Windham and relatives of the occupants reported the situation to the Connecticut State Police and the Middletown, Connecticut Police Department, police said.

Working with the Federal Aviation Administration, authorities used cellphone data to track down the plane’s location near the airstrip in Vermont.

Using a drone, Vermont state police and local agencies located the wreckage in a wooded area east of the Basin Airport around 12:20 a.m. on Monday.

First responders arrived at the scene and pronounced all four on board dead.

They were identified on Monday as Paul Pelletier, 55, of Columbia; Frank Rodriguez, 88, of Lebanon; Susan Van Ness, 51; and her daughter Delilah Van Ness, 15, both of Middletown.

Delilah Van Ness, a sophomore at Middletown High School, was taking flight lessons with Pelletier, the school’s aviation technology teacher.

It’s not clear who was piloting the aircraft when it crashed.

“This unimaginable loss has left a void in our hearts and our community,” Dr. Alberto Vázquez Matos, Superintendent of Middletown Public Schools, said in a statement. 

“Paul, Delilah, and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city,” he added.

The high school was closed on Tuesday to let the school community grieve. School officials said counseling will be available to students and faculty when they return.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the FAA and National Transit Safety Board.

The bodies of the victims were brought to the medical examiner’s office in Burlington, where autopsies will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Authorities identified the four people killed in a Vermont plane crash on Sunday, including a 15–year-old girl and her mother. 

Vermont State Police identified the victims as Paul Pelletier, 55 of Columbia, Conn., Frank Rodriquez, 88, of Lebanon, Conn., Susan Van Ness 51, and Delilah Van Ness, 15, both of Middletown, Conn. 

Pelletier was the aerospace and manufacturing teacher at Middletown High School, where Delilah was a student, Middletown Public Schools said. 

We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of 3 cherished members of our community in a plane crash: Paul Pelletier, Delilah Van Ness, & Susan Van Ness. MHS will be closed on Tues, Sept. 10, 2024 with crisis teams available. More here: https://t.co/fvZU3gAC0m

— Middletown Public Schools (@MiddletownPS) September 9, 2024

“This unimaginable loss has left a void in our hearts and our community,” Superintendent of Middletown Public Schools Dr. Alberto Vázquez Matos said. “Paul, Delilah, and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city.” 

Middletown High School was closed and all athletic events were postponed on Tuesday, a letter from Matos to parents said. Matos said he hopes the break will “provide our school community time to grieve.” Administrators stationed crisis teams at Middletown High School to support the community, the letter said. 

The victims were on a small four-person plane flying back to Connecticut after brunch at Basin Harbor resort south of Burlington, State Police said. State Police said they did not receive any reports of an aircraft in distress or a plane crash. Relatives of the victims alerted Connecticut authorities after their loved ones had not come home, the statement said. Connecticut law enforcement worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the plane’s last known location.

Using a drone, investigators found the wreckage just east of the Basin Harbor Airport early Monday morning, the statement said. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation into the crash, according to State Police. 

“In the days and weeks ahead, let us come together as a unified Middletown school community to honor the memory of Paul, Delilah, and Susan,” Matos said in the letter. “May their legacies of compassion, dedication, and kindness will inspire us to support one another and make a positive difference in the world.”

East Corinth, Vermont — Last weekend, Beetlejuice fans returned to Winter River.

The release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice last week has renewed excitement about the Tim Burton franchise. According to Rotten Tomatoes, reviews for the film were mostly positive, with 77% of critics and 82% of audience members giving positive reviews. However, the town the movies are based in, Winter River, Connecticut, is not real. Beetlejuice 1 & 2 were filmed in a small Vermont town, and many of the props remain.

As they did in the 1980s, Tim Burton and his film crew travelled to East Corinth to film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. They recreated the sets in the town, which resulted in part of the set being stolen. According to NBC 5, the new owner of Miss Shannon’s School for Girls has started a GoFundMe to help make it a community space with a tavern downstairs and an auditorium upstairs. That’s not the only place in town that features Beetlejuice sets.

Northeast Slopes is chalked full of interesting tidbits. First opened in 1936, it’s home to the oldest continuously operating ski tow in the United States. In addition, the ski area is home to a few pieces of cinematic history. The covered bridge used in the movie Beetlejuice was separated and now covers the vehicles that power the big and small rope tows. For the Beetlejuice sequel, their covered bridge has also found a home at Northeast Slopes, as it will host events, like a music festival this past August.

The Bridge Weekly Sho-Case did a great article about the Beetlejuice connections at Northeast Slopes, which you can read by clicking on the photo below.

Recent years have been trickier for the Vermont ski hill, with a lack of snowfall leading to minimal operating days. Northeast Slopes doesn’t have snowmaking, so they rely on natural snowfall to open. Let’s hope Northeast Slopes see significant snowfall next ski season, as the locals deserve more operating days.

Plus, I want to go up there to shred at this historic ski hill and scream out Beetlejuice three times to see what happens.

Image/Video Credits: Northeast Slopes, NBC 5, Bridge Weekly Sho-Case (Shauna Kimball)

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