Report: Major League Baseball official killed in Sloansville plane crash

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

The Hogan Airport located off Old Brandon Road in Sloansville is where a plane crashed on Saturday, July 16, 2016, killing 3 of 4 people on board.

An official with Major League Baseball and her husband were identified Monday evening by the league as among the three people killed in Saturday’s small plane crash in Sloansville.

Susanne Hilgefort, who served as MLB’s senior director of broadcasting and business affairs, died along with her husband, Michael Mydlarz, according to MLB.com. The identity of the third victim remained unclear late Monday.

“Susanne was a warm and caring person who lived life to the fullest,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “She was an avid world traveler who loved spending time outdoors. When indoors at (MLB headquarters), Susanne always brought joy to those around her with her enormous smile, energy and positive outlook day in and day out. She made a lasting contribution to our game and will be sorely missed.”

The small plane carrying Hilgefort, 48, and Mydlarz, both of Greenwich, Conn., along with two others crashed Saturday evening after takeoff at the private field called Hogan Airport. The airport is located in the town of Esperance near Old Brandon Road and the hamlet of Sloansville, according to authorities and MLB.

The crash site is about 1,000 feet southwest of the airfield and consists of woods and swamps, Schoharie County Sheriff Anthony Desmond said.

The four people aboard the plane had just attended a gathering of family and friends near the field, Schoharie County Sheriff Anthony Desmond said earlier Monday.

Several of those remaining at the gathering near the Sloansville airfield saw the plane gain altitude and then descend into the trees, he said.

They made their way to the crash site and found one man outside the plane with burns to his face and hands trying to help the others still in the wreckage, Desmond said.

In the end, only that man survived. Paramedics flew him to Albany Medical Center, then on to the Westchester Medical Center’s burn unit for treatment.

Authorities still had not officially released the names of the victims Monday, including the name of the third person who died and the man who survived.

The crash investigation is continuing, a National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said. An NTSB investigator has been at the scene since Saturday. She is documenting the aircraft and accident site, including tree damage, the spokesman said.

She interviewed one witness Sunday and another Monday. She is also to review witness interviews conducted by local authorities.

The wreckage was to be moved to a secure location sometime Tuesday.

The spokesman said routine areas of inquiry include an examination of the wreckage, the engine, the pilot’s records and maintenance history of the craft.

A preliminary report is expected to be released within weeks and a final report in a year or longer.

Hilgefort joined Major League Baseball in 1994. She went on to serve as senior director of affiliate sales and marketing for the launch of the MLB Network in 2009. Just over a year later, she became the league’s senior director of broadcasting and business affairs

“For over 20 years, Susanne was a tremendous colleague and dear friend,” Bernadette McDonald, MLB’s senior vice president of broadcasting, told MLB.com. “She brought enthusiasm to every project, a willingness to lend a hand on a moment’s notice and a zest for life that most of us can only dream of. Her warmth and spirit will continue to inspire us going forward.”

Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122, [email protected] or @ByStevenCook on Twitter.