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Connecticut teen, 15, taking flying lessons among 4 killed in Vermont plane crash

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1 year ago

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Connecticut teen, 15, taking flying lessons among 4 killed in Vermont plane crash


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.

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Delilah Van Ness, 15, was taking flying lessons from her high school teacher Paul Pelletier. Both were killed in Sunday’s crash. Middletown Public Schools
Susan Van Ness, Delilah’s mother, was also killed in the small plane crash. Linkedin / Susan Van Ness

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.

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

Paul Pelletier was a beloved teacher at Middletown High School. Facebook / Paul Pelletier

“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.

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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.



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Vermont

Trump administration sues Vermont secretary of state for failing to turn over voter data – VTDigger

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7 hours ago

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December 2, 2025

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Trump administration sues Vermont secretary of state for failing to turn over voter data – VTDigger


Secretary of State Sarah Copeland-Hanzas at the Statehouse in Montpelier on June 18, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

The Trump administration has taken Vermont’s secretary of state to court, asking a federal judge to force the state to turn over information on registered voters. 

Filed on Monday in Vermont’s U.S. District Court, the lawsuit argues Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas violated federal election law when she refused to share registered voters’ addresses, drivers license numbers and the last four digits of their social security numbers, among other information. 

Vermont officials have yet to respond to the suit in court. 

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Back in August, Copeland Hanzas announced she wouldn’t comply with the Trump administration’s request, arguing Vermont law “specifically prohibits” the state and municipal governments from sharing voters’ personal details with the federal government for certain uses. That includes, per the law, handing over voters’ information so federal agencies can compare it to “personally identifying information contained in other federal or state databases.”

At that time, a number of other states had received similar requests from the Trump administration for voter information. Some states shared the information, while others, including Maine, declined the request. The federal government has since sued some of those states that declined the demand.

In the lawsuit, attorneys in the voting section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division suggested their inquiry is meant to ensure Vermont’s registered voter list is accurate. The federal attorneys requested that a judge order Copeland Hanzas to comply with the request to turn over voter information. 

A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office said on Tuesday that they weren’t familiar with the details of the lawsuit and declined to comment. 

“We have not yet been served with this lawsuit but we look forward to defending Secretary Copeland Hanzas in this case,” Amelia Vath, a spokesperson for the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, which represents Copeland Hanzas in the case, said in a statement. 

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Vermont

Man in custody after reportedly threatening Vermont State troopers with chainsaw

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20 hours ago

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December 2, 2025

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Man in custody after reportedly threatening Vermont State troopers with chainsaw


NEWARK, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Vermont State Police say that a Massachusetts man is being held without bail after he threatened law enforcement with a running chainsaw.

According to authorities, James O’Meara, 40, of Marblehead, Massachusetts, is facing three counts of attempted aggravated assault and one of criminal threatening.

Police say that O’Meara was breaking items and being aggressive while inside a home in Newark, Caledonia County very early Monday morning. When law enforcement arrived, they say he started to approach troopers while holding both an axe and a chainsaw.

Police say they kept their distance and eventually arrested him hours later without further incident. He was scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday.

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Police say that they applied the Statewide Policy on Police Use of Force to bring him into custody.



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Vermont

Vermont offers resources for fireplace safety

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1 day ago

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December 1, 2025

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Vermont offers resources for fireplace safety


MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Vermonters from Putney to Richford can go to their local public library and pick up a free moisture meter.

Dry wood burns hotter and cleaner than wet wood, saving both money and energy while making less smoke.

A moisture meter is a small, hand-held device that you can use to check if your firewood is dry before burning it. Firewood should be below 20% moisture content to burn cleanly.

Officials recommend splitting a piece of firewood and pressing the meter’s pins into the middle.

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And by using one, you’ll also be helping out the environment, because during the winter, residental wood smoke is a main contributor to fine particle pollution – responsible for poor air quality days.

Vermont conservation officials say the meters are available on loan at 63 libraries across the state. The full list is on DEC’s website at the link here. They were made possible through a loan from the Departments of Libraries and Environmental Conservation.

Chimney cleanings recommended after Vergennes fire

Another tip while burning firewood is to make sure to schedule an annual chimney cleaning.

The Vergennes Fire Department said they responded to a reported chimney fire past 8:00 p.m. Sunday night, and cleaned out a home’s fireplace after seeing “high heat coming off the chimney cap.”

(Courtesy: Vergennes Fire Department via FB)

They said that by working both inside the house and on the roof, they managed to ensure the home was safe without any damage to it.

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As temperatures keep getting colder and fireplaces see more use, Vermonters should make sure to keep safety in mind. More information is available on the Department of Public Safety website.



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