Accident Details
On January 1, 2014, about 1045 eastern standard time, a Beechcraft A36, registration N1803X, operated by a private individual, came to rest off a taxiway at Eastern Slopes Regional Airport (IZG) in Fryeburg, Maine. The private pilot became incapacitated. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal cross-country flight destined for Linden Airport (LDJ) in Linden, New Jersey. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot's son, he had spoken to his father through the cockpit window. The son then walked to his car, and the pilot began a slow taxi toward the runway. The airplane drifted to the right and came to rest next to a snow bank. The son ran to the airplane and found his father slumped over the control yoke. Emergency medical services transported the pilot to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. No damage was observed on the airplane.
The son reported nothing abnormal about the pilot's behavior on the day of the accident and stated that the pilot had no prior medical problems, with his death being a surprise to the family.
Pilot Background
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane single-engine sea, and instrument airplane. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on January 6, 2012, at which time he reported 3,940 hours of total flight experience.
According to FAA medical records, the pilot first received a third-class medical certificate in 1964 with a restriction for corrective lenses. On January 2, 1980, he was issued a second-class medical certificate and a statement of demonstrated ability for defective distant vision of the left eye. His most recent physical examination on January 6, 2012, showed no reported medical problems or use of additional medications beyond daily prophylactic aspirin.
Medical and Toxicology Findings
An autopsy performed on January 3, 2014, by the New Hampshire Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death as "severe coronary artery atherosclerosis" and the manner of death as "natural." Significant heart disease was identified, including a markedly enlarged heart weighing 608 grams (normal 345 ± 40), hypertensive heart disease with a left ventricular wall thickness of 2.0 cm (normal up to 1.3 cm), severe three-vessel coronary artery atherosclerosis (up to 90% stenosis), scarring from a remote myocardial infarct of the posterior left ventricle, and calcific aortic stenosis. The pilot's wife reported to the medical examiner that he had a history of heart disease.
Toxicological testing by the FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory revealed Rosuvastatin in the heart and urine, and 39 µg/ml of Salicylate in the urine. Rosuvastatin (marketed as Crestor) is a lipid-lowering agent; salicylate is a metabolite of aspirin, used for its anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet effects.