Emergency officials work the scene of a fatal small plane crash alongside Interstate 40 near mile marker 202, Monday, March 4, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. An Ontario town is mourning a family of five who died in a Nashville plane crash earlier this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, George Walker IV
VAUGHAN, Ont. – A private school north of Toronto is expressing “profound sadness and grief” as it mourns a family of five who died in a plane crash in Nashville.
Forty-three-year-old Victor Dotsenko, his 39-year-old wife Rimma Dotsenko and their three children, 12-year-old David, 10-year-old Adam and seven-year-old Emma, were killed Monday as a single-engine plane crashed alongside a highway.
The family, who were the only people aboard the plane, lived in King Township, located about 50 km north of Toronto.
UMCA Rich Tree Academy says the family was part of the school community for many years.
The school says David, Adam and Emma “lit up” the hallways and had “such a positive energy and attitude” towards friends and teachers.
It says the children’s parents were always very close to the school community and the family will be missed tremendously.
King City’s mayor has called the deaths a “heartbreaking and devastating loss” for the “tight-knit community.”
Victor Dotsenko, who was flying the plane, had radioed air traffic controllers to report that his engine had shut down.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent a representative to assist in the crash investigation being led by U.S. authorities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.
