Part of the Boston medical community was mourning Friday after a married couple – both doctors with local ties – were identified as two of the people who died when a small plane crashed in Connecticut on Thursday.
Courtney Haviland, 33, and William Shrauner, 31, left a small child behind and were expecting another baby, according to authorities and his family.
“They loved and loved medicine and life and wanted to be a part of giving life to others in a special way,” said family spokesman Pastor Matthew Mitchell.
A married couple, both Boston doctors expecting a baby, died Thursday in a minor accident in Connecticut.
The other two people on board the plane that crashed into a factory in Farmington on Thursday morning were its pilots, William O’Leary, 55, of Bristol, and Mark Morrow, 57, of Danbury, according to Farmington Police Lieutenant Tim McKenzie.
Haviland, who grew up in Farmington, was a member of Brown Pediatric Emergency Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island, working at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Shrauner was a cardiologist at Boston Medical Center.
They both attended Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, and then continued their training in Boston-Haviland at Massachusetts General Hospital and Shrauner at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our fellow cardiologists, Dr. Will Shrauner, and his wife, Dr. Courtney Haviland,” Boston Medical Center said in a statement Friday. “Will … was well known to many an exceptional educator, doctor, colleague and friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Will and Courtney’s family and loved ones.”
Dr. Joel Katz, director of the internal medicine residency program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, issued a statement declaring the two doctors “bright lights, devoted doctors and dear friends” who would be greatly missed.
Haviland “was universally loved by his colleagues and patients and lived a life full of meaning,” said in a statement the chief physician at Mass General Children’s Hospital, Dr. Ron Kleinman. “Her bright smile and twinkle in her eyes left an indelible mark on everyone who knew her, as did her boundless kindness and compassion.”
Mitchell, the family’s spokesman, said his family is still figuring out how to deal with the loss of Haviland and Shrauner.
“Tragically, we were taken out too early and I think everyone is still asleep and trying to examine how we get into the next few days and chart this new course,” he said.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were found Friday at the crash site. The cause is still being investigated.
The Cessna Citation 560X took off from Robertson Airport in Plainville shortly before 10 a.m. on a flight to Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina, the Federal Aviation Administration. McKenzie said there appeared to be some sort of mechanical failure during takeoff.
The jet came in contact with the ground a short distance from the runway and crashed into a Trumpf Inc. building. The impact caused chemical fires inside the building. Two employees suffered minor injuries, officials said.
Burke Doar, senior vice president of Trumpf, said in a video posted on Twitter that company officials were assessing the damage Friday and trying to recover production of machine tools and lasers for customers.
The video of the building showed a large fire coming from a section of the structure. Locals reported that they heard a loud boom, then the ground shook and the lights went out.