The sister, brother-in-law, niece, and unborn nephew of the Broadway actress are presumed dead after a seaplane crashed in Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island outside of Seattle on Sunday, Sept. 4. The plane, carrying a total of 10 people including the pilot crashed shortly after 3 p.m. PT on Sunday. Search and rescue teams recovered one body but called off the search for survivors on Monday. The other nine are presumed dead. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the names of the crew and passengers, which included Hilty’s family, in a press release. Hilty’s brother-in-law, Ross Mickel, owned Washington-based Ross Andrew Winery. His wife and Megan’s sister Lauren Hilty was pregnant with the couple’s son, Luca, at the time of the crash. Their daughter, Remy, was also with them on the plane. The Mickel family released a statement after Sunday’s tragedy. “We are deeply saddened and beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved Ross Mickel, Lauren Hilty, Remy and their unborn baby boy, Luca,” the statement read. “Our collective grief is unimaginable. They were a bright and shining light in the lives of everyone who knew them. Although their time with us was too short, we will carry their legacy forward.” “The Coast Guard offers its deepest sympathies to those who lost a loved one in this tragedy,” said Cmdr. Xochitl Castañeda, the Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator for this incident. Megan Hilty is best known to television audiences as Ivy Lynn from the NBC series, SMASH! Hilty got her start on the Broadway stage as Glinda in Wicked. She followed up her stage roles with memorable turns as Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5: The Musical (Dolly Parton’s character in the film) and as Brooke Ashton in the 2016 Broadway revival of Noises Off for which she received a Tony nomination.
