Parents, sons aged 10 and 12 and grandfather, pilot (76), die on return from a baseball tournament in which the eldest child hit a grand slam

A family of five, including the parents, their two sons and their grandfather, a pilot, died in a plane crash in northern New York State.

The family from Georgia had flown to the region for a baseball tournament where their eldest child hit a home run.

The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-46, was being flown by the children’s grandfather, 76-year-old Roger Beggs, when it crashed in a rural wooded area around 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

Beggs died in the crash along with his daughter Laura VanEpps (43), her husband Ryan (42) and their two children, 12-year-old James and his 10-year-old brother Harrison VanEpps.

The plane had just taken off from Alfred S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta when it crashed in Delaware County near Sidney, about 40 miles northeast of Binghamton.

The wreckage of the plane and the remains of the five people on board were found in the town of Masonville on Sunday evening, New York State Police said.

Drones, off-road vehicles and helicopters were used to search for the remote crash site, which is about 200 kilometers northwest of New York City.

The family had begun their journey back to Alpharetta, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, after watching their 12-year-old son James’ baseball team play in a tournament in Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

James hit a grand slam during the youth baseball tournament.

In a moving tribute, players on Monday laid out their gloves with James’ initials on them at the Oneonta baseball field where he played on Sunday: JR

“As we grapple with this unimaginable loss, let us come together to remember and celebrate her wonderful life,” the Van Epps family said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“Her kindness, her laughter and her love will remain in our hearts forever.”

Ryan’s father, Jim Van Epps, agreed.

“It’s just a great tragedy for our family and the end of five great lives, especially young lives,” Van Epps said of the loss of his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

Van Epps said his grandchildren are doing well in school and sports, and 10-year-old Harrison is an aspiring lacrosse player.

“Ryan and Laura supported their boys in everything they wanted to do,” he said.

Laura Van Epps’ father, Beggs, volunteered to fly the family to upstate New York to watch the tournament with them.

The plane was en route back to Atlanta’s Cobb County International Airport and had made a refueling stop in West Virginia when it crashed, state police said.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said on social media platform X that he and his family were praying for the victims’ families.

“As we learn of this tragic news, please join Marty, the girls and me in praying for the Beggs and VanEpps families,” Kemp wrote.

“We extend our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved her.”

“We were neighbors. We saw each other every day and always said hi to the boys and sometimes they would come over. They lived right across the street and we would always wave and say hi and they were lovely,” neighbor Caroline Slayton told Atlanta News First.

“We are all devastated. They were the nicest family and the nicest people.”

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.