Student Pilot, 15, Among 4 Dead in Vermont Crash

Student’s mother and high school aerospace teacher and a passenger also killed.

Russ Niles

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 09:49 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

Basin Harbor Airport (B06). [Credit: State of Vermont Agency of Transportation]

Key Takeaways:

Four people, including a 15-year-old student pilot, were killed when a Piper Arrow 180 crashed shortly after takeoff from Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburg, Vermont.
The victims were identified as student pilot Delilah Van Ness, her mother Susan Van Ness, her flight instructor Paul Pelletier, and passenger Frank Rodriguez, with bodies found about 12 hours post-accident.
The aircraft crashed in a wooded area; no distress calls were received, and while the plane was seen on the runway, no one witnessed its actual takeoff or the crash.

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Four people, including a 15-year-old student pilot, were killed in the crash of a Piper Arrow 180 at Basin Harbor Airport (B06), a grass strip in Ferrisburg, Vermont, on Sunday.

The aircraft crashed in a wooded area shortly after takeoff just after noon, and the student, Delilah Van Ness, her mother, Susan Van Ness, her high school flight instructor, Paul Pelletier, and passenger Frank Rodriguez were found dead at the scene about 12 hours after the accident.