Tragic reason Georgia family's plane crashed as grandpa flew them home

The Georgia family of five killed in an upstate New York plane crash was flying through an area of rough weather, officials say. Flight tracking data reviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board showed the single-engine Piper PA-46 aircraft 'was lost about 12 minutes after departure' from Alfred S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta on Sunday.

'Preliminary information indicates that the plane was flying from Oneonta, New York to Charleston, West Virginia when it crashed under unknown circumstances,' an NTSB spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'Meteorological data shows storm activity along the flight path.' The family, from Georgia, had flown up to the region for a baseball tournament , where their eldest child hit a home run. 

The plane was being flown by the children's grandfather 76-year-old Roger Beggs, when it came down in a rural, wooded area at around 2 p.m. on Sunday. Beggs was killed in the crash alongside his daughter Laura Van Epps, 43, her husband, Ryan, 42, and their two children 12-year-old James Ryan and his brother Harrison Van Epps, who was 10. 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 family had been heading back to Cobb County International Airport in Atlanta with a fueling stop in West Virginia when it crashed, New York State Police said. Data shows storms occurred along the flight path, but had not touched down when the family took off. At the time of take off there was an 8 mph wind blowing, but by the time they reached 8,700 feet the plan was within the storm cell and likely to have been hit with turbulence, according to Jim Brewster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton.

'You have air rising very rapidly, and in contrast, you have air sinking very rapidly in these storm cells or shower cells,' Brewster told Times Union. Debris from the plan was spread out over a mile and all major parts except the rudder have been found. Drones, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters were used to search for the remote crash site, which is about 125 miles northwest of New York City.

The family had begun their return journey back to Alpharetta, Georgia in the Atlanta suburbs after watching their 12-year-old son, James' baseball team play in a tournament in Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. James Ryan hit a grand slam during the youth baseball tournament. 

His coach, Frank Tumminia Jr., shared the milestone in a heartfelt tribute on Facebook. 'JR Van Epps crushed a GRAND SLAM. His parents were too modest and humble to post about his athletic dominance so that is my job today as coach,' Tumminia said.

'Mistakes are how kids learn, it’s part of the evolution. JR did not make mistakes… in any facet of his life— relationships, school, and goodness gracious if you’ve been hit by him then you know… any time he touched the field. Today and for as long as I live I will teach the living testimony of JR. A piece of me left with him yesterday afternoon. I will remember him as the ultimate human.' 

Ryan's sister, Ansley Van Epps, created a Facebook group for loved ones called 'In Loving Memory of The Van Epps Family.' 'Ryan, Laura, James Ryan and Harrison were so amazing to all who knew them. From the moment Laura entered our family I knew she was going to be a lifelong friend,' Ansley said. 'James Ryan and Harrison were my little buds, my husband taught them to swim and we spent as much time as we could with them every time we visited Roswell. My heart is shattered but I am blessed to have called Ryan my brother, Laura my sister in law and James Ryan and Harrison my sweet nephews.'

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