Middletown students hold private vigil for classmate, teacher killed in VT plane crash

“With them gone, I don’t know who’s going to fill that gap,” Middletown High School sophomore Angel Benitez said.

On Tuesday inside Middletown’s Russell Library, Middletown High School students led a private vigil where students said they shared memories of classmate Delilah Van Ness and teacher Paul Pelletier. 

“I cannot believe it. You can make plans, but it’s not in our hands,” said Luis Revilla, who worked with the Middletown Aerospace Program.

Pelletier and Van Ness were among the four individuals killed in a plane crash on Sunday in Vermont.

“I didn’t believe the news when I first saw it, I was very much in denial,” Middletown sophomore Neriyah Norfleet said.

Also aboard the plane were Delilah’s mother Susan and fellow pilot Frank Rodriguez. Officials say they had flown a private plane to Vermont on Sunday, but did not return.

The wreckage was discovered early Monday morning not far from the Basin Harbor Airport in Vermont.

“She was such a kind person. She had many friends who loved and cared for her and her mother and Mr. Pelletier,” Norfleet said.

Pelletier, with help from Rodriguez, had been instrumental in starting Middletown’s Aerospace Program where he taught students like Delilah about aviation, from planes to drones.

“He really believed in every one of us and allowed all of us to pursue this aerospace dream,” Benitez said.

It’s a dream that now takes on even more meaning as the community continues to process the loss.

“It definitely will be hard, but life goes on. We have each other to lean on and that’s really all we can count on right now,” Norfleet said.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), along with the Federal Aviation Administration, are still investigating the crash.

The NTSB said on Tuesday that the pilot was a man, and that they’re expecting to have a preliminary report within 30 days.