'Sweetest kids you'll ever meet:' School mourns family killed in plane crash

Students and staff at a private school north of Toronto are “completely distraught” as they grapple with the loss of a family of five killed in a plane crash in Nashville, a school administrator said Thursday, calling the family “an integral part” of the community.

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 near downtown Nashville.

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The family, who were the only people aboard the plane, lived in King Township, located about 50 km north of Toronto.

Alina Pinsky, co-director of the UMCA Rich Tree Academy, said the family was part of the school community for many years.

David, Adam and Emma were “the sweetest kids you'll ever meet,” she said in a phone interview.

“These were the most bright, energy-filled kids - everyone in the school loved them, they had so many friends,” Pinsky said.

“This was a very, very loved trio in our school.”

David was a kind-hearted jokester, a smart, bright kid with a “wholesome” personality, she said.

Adam was an avid chess player and the school had recently talked about setting up a tournament so he could show the community what he'd been working on, she said.

Emma was a “sweet, kind young girl, always such a good friend” to her classmates, she said.

Their parents were very involved in the school community and had recently come to attend some performances, Pinsky said.

“We are so sad as a community and as a school,” she said. “The sadness and the grief that the school is feeling today weighs very heavily on our hearts.”

King City's mayor called the deaths a “heartbreaking and devastating loss” for the “tight-knit community.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called it a “huge and shocking loss for everyone who knew the Dotsenko family.”

“My prayers are with their loved ones and everyone in King Township who's grieving their loss,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Victor Dotsenko, who was flying the plane, had radioed air traffic controllers to report that his engine had shut down, he had overflown John C. Tune airport and had circled around in an attempt to land.

Investigator Aaron McCarter of the National Transportation Safety Board said the flight originated in Ontario and made stops along the way that were likely to gas up, including Erie, Pa., and Mount Sterling, Ky.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent a representative to assist in the crash investigation being led by U.S. authorities.

The plane was based at the Brampton Flight Centre, which is owned and operated by the Brampton Flying Club, said its general manager, Allan Paige.

With files from Paola Loriggio.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.