Who was Joy Saini? Indian-origin doctor and Boston Pelvic Health & Wellness founder killed in New York plane crash

Dr Joy Saini, an Indian-origin doctor and founder of Boston Pelvic Health & Wellness, and her family were among the six people who died in a plane crash in Copake, New York on Saturday. The twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B, carrying a family of physicians and student-athletes, went down in a muddy field, while they were on a trip to the Catskills for Passover.

New York plane crash victims

1. India-born urogynecologist Dr Joy Saini.

2. Her neuroscientist husband Dr Michael Groff.

3. Her daughter Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player. She was named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.

4. Joy's son Jared Groff, a 2022 graduate of Swarthmore College who used to work as a paralegal.

5. Alexia Couyutas Duarte, Jared Groff's partner who also graduated from Swarthmore and planned to participate in Harvard Law School this fall.

6. James Santoro, another recent MIT graduate, and Karenna Groff's boyfriend.

Who was Dr Joy Saini?

A Mid Hudson report citing sources stated that Joy Saini hailed from Punjab, India, and immigrated with her parents, Kuljit and Gurdev Singh. A pelvic surgeon and founder of Boston Pelvic Health and Wellness, she championed women’s health.

She received her medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh, where she met her husband, Michael Groff, a fellow student who went on to become a distinguished neurosurgeon. He was a dedicated pilot since learning to fly at 16 under his father’s supervision and shared a passion for aviation.

The duo leaves behind their daughter, Anika, Michael’s parents, Stephen and Gebena Groff, Joy’s mother, Kuljit, and siblings Rinne Groff (married to David Becker), Yram Groff (married to Merris), and Prashant Saini (married to Jennifer Cooper), in addition to their extended family.

How did the small plane crash?

According to the Associated Press, they all boarded Michael's private plane from Westchester County Airport and were scheduled to land at Columbia County Airport but crashed nearly 16 kilometres to the south. The National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday informed that the pilot had radioed air traffic control at Columbia County Airport prior to the crash, stating that he had missed the starting approach and sought a new approach plan.

As they prepared the new coordinates, air traffic controllers attempted to issue a low-altitude alert on three separate occasions. However, the pilot did not respond, and no distress call was transmitted. Later, investigators obtained video of the final seconds of the flight, which "appears to show that the aircraft was intact and crashed at a high rate of descent into the ground," NTSB official Todd Inman told reporters.

The plane was discovered in "compressed, buckled and embedded in the terrain" of a muddy agricultural field, an AP report said.

The pilot was flying in accordance with instrument flight rules, instead of visual flight rules, and authorities are investigating if lower visibility from weather conditions was a factor in the crash. The NTSB said the plane had been sold a year ago and had an updated cockpit equipped with newer technology that was certified by Federal Aviation.