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WTOL:
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN -- A small plane crash in the upper peninsula of Michigan has claimed the lives
of an entire family from Sylvania. Police and the FAA have now confirmed that 48-year-old Steven DalPra was piloting the plane
when it crashed, killing him, his wife, Colleen Morgan-DalPra, and their three daughters, 15-year-old Elizabeth, 14-year-old
Rachele, and 12-year-old Giovanna. It happened around 11:30 AM local time on Tuesday.
The weather was clear at
the time of the crash, and the pilot was apparently trying to land the twin-engine Piper at the Gogebic-Iron County Airport
in Ironwood Township, said Ted Lopatkiewicz of the National Transportation Safety Board. "The pilot reported an engine problem
followed by a landing gear problem, and was circling the airport at the time of the crash," said Lopatkiewicz. The agency
has sent an investigator to the crash site. The FAA and the NTSB are both investigating right now.
The American Medical
Association's Web site lists DalPra as a Sylvania-based anesthesiologist. Neighbors of the DalPra's mother, who lives near
Ironwood, said DalPra had left the area to pursue a medical career. They said DalPra and his family routinely visited the
area. ``He's a very nice guy, very friendly,'' Joe Templer said.
The principal at Sylvania's McCord Junior High School,
where two of the girls were currently attending, was stunned by the news. "Not only were they good students, they were good
kids. Actively involved in the school. Gave a lot of themselves to students here. Actively involved in activities. Touched
a lot of lives," said principal Jeff Robbins.
Paul and Janine Strand, who live across the street from Steven DalPra's
mother, said the timing of the crash - between the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays - made the tragedy seem worse. "It
will be the talk of the town for quite a while, a small community like this," Paul Strand said.
Airport manager Joe
Braspenick said he was baffled by the crash. He said visibility was about 5 miles around the time airport officials got a
call from air traffic controllers in Minneapolis. "They said there was an aircraft in trouble, that they were having trouble
getting main gear down," Braspenick said. "We were monitoring frequency and the next thing you know the sheriff's department
called us to say we had a crash."
The plane crashed in the yard of Kenneth and Joan Ruotsala, whose property is adjacent
to the airport just east of its general aviation hangar. Joan Ruotsala, 58, said she heard a thud when it hit. "We were just
worried, 'Oh, what's happened to the people?'" she said. "We didn't think about it until a couple of hours later that we were
so lucky and fortunate that the Lord spared our house."
The couple's son, Mike Ruotsala, 20, told the (Ironwood) Daily
Globe that he was playing with his nephews when he heard the crash. "I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew something had hit,"
Ruotsala said. He looked out the window and saw that the plane had crashed near some trees between the house and a nearby
pond.
Toledo Blade
Five members of a Sylvania Township family were killed yesterday when their small plane crashed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
near the Wisconsin border.
The Ketola-Burla Funeral Home in Ironwood, Mich., identified the victims as Dr. Steven DalPra, 48, his wife, Colleen Morgan-DalPra,
48, and their three daughters, Elizabeth, 15, Rachele, 14, and Giovanna, 12.
Authorities said their twin-engine Piper crashed about 11:30 a.m. Central Time yesterday in Ironwood Township, just outside
Ironwood. The weather was clear at the time of the crash. Investigators are on the scene.
Peter Burla, owner of the funeral home, said Dr. Dalpra, an anesthesiologist, was originally from the Ironwood area and
has family in the area.
Neighbors of the pilot's mother, who lives just southeast of Ironwood, said the pilot had left the area to pursue a medical
career. They said the pilot and his family routinely visited the area.
"He's a very nice guy, very friendly," said Joe Templer. "I talked to him a couple times when he was cutting
the grass."
Paul and Janine Strand, who live across the street from the pilot's mother, said the timing of the crash -- between the
Christmas and New Year's Day holidays -- made the tragedy seem even worse.
"It will be the talk of the town for quite a while, a small community like this," Paul Strand said.
Officials said the weather was clear at the time of the crash.
"The pilot reported an engine problem followed by a landing gear problem, and was circling the airport at the time
of the crash," said Ted Lopatkiewicz, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Lopatkiewicz said an NTSB investigator was sent to the scene.
Airport manager Joe Braspenick said he was baffled by the crash. He said visibility was about 5 miles around the time
airport officials got a call from air traffic controllers in Minneapolis.
WTol
SYLVANIA -- As you can imagine, friends of the DalPra's just can't believe the family they've come to love
is now gone.
Dr. Steven F. DalPra, 48, was flying his family from Sylvania to visit his relatives in Michigan's Upper
Peninsula when the plane crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board says DalPra reported engine and landing gear problems
before the crash.
Authorities on Wednesday identified the other victims as Colleen Morgan-DalPra, 48; and the couple's
daughters Elizabeth, 15, Rachele, 14, and Giovanna, 12.
The weather was clear when the twin-engine, six-seat Piper
Aztec crashed Tuesday near this northern Michigan town, officials said. An NTSB investigator said it's too early to know what
caused the crash.
Friends and family said Steven DalPra was a hobby pilot who left the isolation of far northern Michigan
to pursue his career as an anesthesiologist years ago. DalPra was proud of his roots and the rural culture in which he grew
up, they said. Just outside the Dalpra's home, friends have already left candles and a wreath marking the tragic deaths of
this family.
Here in the Toledo area, people were shocked by the news. "The closest thing to a brother that I had,"
said Dr. Salvador Peron about Steven. He met Steven during a surgery about 17 years ago, while DalPra was working as the anesthesiologist.
"Turns out he's the brother of my best friend in medical school," said Dr. Peron who went on to tell us Steven then became
his best friend.
Dr. Peron told News 11 he flew many times with Steve and can't understand how this accident happened
knowing Steven's thoroughness. "Calculated about everything he did. He checked things not twice but three or four times before
we ever took off or landed," said Peron.
The two families would get together often. "The whole (DalPra) family was
always there for everyone and the friends who lived in the neighborhood," Dr. Peron told News 11.
We caught up with
those neighbors who all sat around a table Wednesday night at the Padda family's home where a recent meal made by Steven still
sat in their refrigerator. The news hit them all hard. "It was unbelievable," said Roshinder Padda. "It was shocking. The
first thing you say is 'God why?' Why would this happen to a wonderful family? They were all like angels. They were beautiful
people," she added.
"Steve would do anything for anybody up and down the street," said good friend Todd Audet. "That
exemplifies the family." A family that will be sadly missed by many. "It's hard to know I can't see him again or the family
and see the kids grow up," Dr. Peron told us.
He also said tentatively there's a memorial service planned. No word
yet on when that service will be.
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