ERA14LA084

The pilot's son reported that he saw his father's airplane initiate a slow taxi for departure, drift right off the taxiway, and then come to rest next to a snow bank. The pilot's son found the pilot slumped over the control yoke, and he was subsequently transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The pilot reported no significant medical history on his medical certificate application, and no health issues were identified during his most recent physical examination. However, the pilot's wife reported that the pilot had a history of heart disease. An autopsy revealed severe coronary artery atherosclerosis, an enlarged heart, and evidence of hypertensive heart disease, and the autopsy report stated that the cause of death was "severe coronary artery atherosclerosis."

On January 1, 2014, about 1045 eastern standard time, a Beechcraft A36, N1803X, operated by a private individual, came to rest off of a taxiway after the private pilot became incapacitated at Eastern Slopes Regional Airport (IZG), Fryeburg, Maine. The private pilot was fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the planned cross-country flight destined for Linden Airport (LDJ), Linden, New Jersey. According to the pilot's son, his father, age 75, intended to fly the airplane home to New Jersey. After speaking to his father through a cockpit window, the son walked to his car and the pilot began a slow taxi to 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. He also stated the pilot had no prior medical problems, and that his death was a surprise to their family. The pilot held a private pilot certificate, with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane single-engine sea, and instrument airplane. The pilot's most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on January 6, 2012. At that time, the pilot reported 3,940 hours of total flight experience. According to the pilot's FAA medical record, the pilot first received a third class medical certificate in 1964, with a restriction for corrective lenses. On January 2, 1980 the pilot was issued a second class medical certificate and a statement of demonstrated ability for defective distant vision of the left eye. The pilot's most recent physical examination was dated January 6, 2012 and with the exception of daily prophylactic Aspirin, the pilot did not report use of any additional medications or any medical problems or procedures. An autopsy was performed on January 3, 2014, by the New Hampshire Medical Examiner's Office, Concord, New Hampshire. According to the autopsy report, the pilot's cause of death was "severe coronary artery atherosclerosis" and the manner of death was "natural." Significant disease was identified in the heart, which was markedly enlarged at a weight of 608 grams (normal for a man of his weight is 345 +/- 40) and had evidence of hypertensive heart disease with the left ventricular wall measured at 2.0 cm (normal is up to 1.3 cm). In addition, the pilot had severe three-vessel coronary artery atherosclerosis (up to 90% stenosis), scarring from a remote myocardial infarct of the posterior left ventricle and a calcific aortic stenosis. The wife reported to the medical examiner that the pilot had a history of heart disease. Toxicological testing was performed onthe pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The testing revealed Rosuvastatin in the heart and urine, and 39 (ug/ml, ug/g) of Salicylate in the urine. Rosuvastatin, marketed under the trade name Crestor, is a prescription lipid-lowering agent used to treat elevated blood lipids and elevated cholesterol. Salicylate is a metabolite of Aspirin, an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication to treat aches and pains and reduce fever. Aspirin also has an anti-platelet effect, used to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction.