From Hope College President James Bultman
It is with deep sadness that I share with the campus community the death of two people killed in a single engine airplane crash on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010, and believed to be Hope College students Emma E. Biagioni and David O. Otai. Although the identities of the victims are yet to be determined by the Allegan County Sheriffs Department and Federal Aviation Administration authorities investigating the crash, all indications point to Emma, Class of 2011, and David, Class of 2012, as the occupants of the airplane.
Records indicate that David apparently rented the airplane from Tulip City Air Service this morning and sought emergency assistance from air traffic control at the Muskegon County Airport before crashing in a corn field in Manlius Township south of the airport.
Further information from law enforcement agencies is pending.
The staffs of the Counseling and Campus Ministries department are available to members of the campus community on Monday.
Further information will be posted as it becomes available.