A Virginia Tech researcher has died after he and his family were in a plane crash in Wisconsin this week.
Cory Papenfuss of Dublin died from injuries sustained during a plane crash in Brookfield, Wisconsin, on Jan. 4, according to a university press release.
The City of Brookfield Police Department responded to the crash at Capitol Airport about noon that day and found the 41-year-old pilot and his 37-year-old wife, Carmen Papenfuss, seriously injured, according to a press release from the department. Their 5-month-old son was found with less severe injuries.
The single-engine plane crashed into an unoccupied SUV parked in the grass east of the runway during takeoff. The adults were taken to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and the child to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, also in Milwaukee.
An administration official with Froedtert Hospital declined to comment on Carmen Papenfuss’ condition on Saturday.
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According to a website set up as a fundraiser for the family, the mother is in critical condition with serious injuries, but is conscious and stable, while the son, Ben, suffered two broken legs in the incident, but is otherwise fine.
Cory Papenfuss had been employed by Tech since 2006, where his work in the vibrations and acoustics lab was based on passive and active noise and vibration control applications that included commercial aircraft, military diesel generators, and prenatal hospital incubators, according to the university.
The family was attempting to return to Virginia after visiting extended family in Wisconsin at the time of the crash.
As of Saturday the fundraiser had already topped its goal of $5,000, reaching $5,490.

