Loved ones, friends and community members are mourning the Georgia family killed in a devastating small plane crash in upstate New York, recalling the two young boys who died as exceptional school athletes -- and their parents as committed adults who sought to support them in every endeavor.
The Van Epps family had been on their way home Sunday following a trip to Cooperstown, where 12-year-old James was participating in a baseball tournament. James' grandfather, a licensed pilot, had volunteered to fly them.
Also aboard: Laura Van Epps, James' mother, his father Ryan and 10-year-old brother Harrison. All five were pronounced dead at the scene after the single-engine Piper PA-46 piloted by grandfather Roger Beggs crashed in the town of Masonville around 2 p.m. after taking off from Albert S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta.
It took hours to find the plane in the rural area. The bodies were in the wreckage, officials said.
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Jim Van Epps, Ryan's father, and the other grandfather of the two boys, told the Associated Press the loss was "a massive tragedy for our family and the end of five great lives, especially young lives."
Laura and Ryan Van Epps were both 42.
Jim Van Epps told The Associated Press that his grandsons, who lived in the Atlanta suburb of Milton, were doing well in school and in sports, with 10-year-old Harrison an up-and-coming lacrosse player.
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“Ryan and Laura supported their boys in whatever endeavor they wanted to do,” he said.
The boys' school, King's Ridge Christian School, asked for prayers for the family, saying, "This is a shocking and heartbreaking loss for our community."
Jim Van Epps said Laura Van Epps’ father offered to fly the family to the tournament and watched it with him. They were heading to Cobb County International Airport in Atlanta, with a fueling stop in West Virginia when they crashed.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The governor of Georgia acknowledged the tragedy in a post on X Monday afternoon.
