…pilot’s recent medical had been done “virtually” due to COVID restrictions
An October 2021 plane crash that killed the pilot and badly injured the passenger happened after the plane stalled and went into a spin before hitting the ground near Lacombe, Alberta, says a Transportation Safety Board of Canada report. (click here)
An autopsy determined that the “cause of death was attributed to blunt force trauma with cardiovascular disease as a significant contributing factor” says the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) report released on Tuesday. “The report also noted that the pilot had evidence of a heart attack.”
An independent cardiologist confirmed that the pilot’s cardiovascular disease and evidence of a heart attack “provide a very plausible, even if remote, scenario for an in-flight acute medical incapacitation…”
Due to COVID restrictions, the pilot’s most recent medical had been done virtually and involved an attestation that he was fit to fly. (click here)
The board’s official recommendation to Transport Canada is that its guidance to medical examiners “contains the most effective screening tools for assessing medical conditions such as cardiovascular health issues.”
Such a move would affect about half of the 33,000 commercial pilots in Canada who have Category 1 medicals.
Scott Walton, 46, was flying a medical transport plane when it crashed in Nevada, killing all five on board. (click here)
It wasn’t clear if weather played a role in the crash, which happened amid a winter storm. Authorities have said the plane was headed from Reno to Salt Lake City.
20 year old Shane Pennington was flying over Indianapolis with a passenger in a Cirrus SR20. At some point the plane made a 360-degree left turn and began a “rapid” descent. (click here)
The airplane damage was consistent with a high angle and high energy impact with terrain. An examination of the plane after the crash, NTSB said, revealed no mechanical malfunctions that would cause the crash.
A small private airplane crashed near the Modesto airport on Jan.18, 2023, killing the pilot. Witnesses said the plane was making a left-handed banked turn and for unknown reasons it went down almost like a nose dive. (click here)
Johnathan Benton, age 53, was one of two people onboard a Piper PA-32 Aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff from a regional airport in Bethany, OK. (click here)
Benton, a former US Air Force pilot, was chairman of government affairs at the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots, where he pushed for stronger federal safety rules.
The pilot of a float plane that crashed on north Vancouver Island on Wednesday afternoon has been identified as Patrick Lehman. Patrick, who is in his 30s and was described as a “very qualified pilot”, was flying two loggers back to Port Hardy from a logging camp, in a Cessna belonging to the Air Cab float plane company based in Coal Harbor. (click here)
Company president said he talked to Lehman just 10 minutes before the crash happened. Visibility was good and upper winds were fairly strong at the time, he said, and it seemed that Lehman had no issues.
The two pilots were identified as Eric S. Seevers, 45, of West Virginia, and Timothy F. Gifford, 49, of Orient, Ohio. (click here)
There were no issues reported during the flight and the plane was cleared for approach to PKB Airport. However, about 40 seconds later, witnesses and videotape evidence showed the plane descending at a steep angle and hitting the ground.
“They had communication with air traffic control. The communication was seamless. There were no issues, no cause for concern, no distress signals were sent, it was very normal communications”
An Air Canada Bombardier C-Series CS-300, performing flight AC-1097 from Toronto, ON to San Jose (Costa Rica) on Sep.26, 2022, was enroute over the Gulf of Mexico when one of the pilots became incapacitated. The other pilot declared PAN PAN and diverted the aircraft to Orlando, where the aircraft landed safely about 60 minutes after the decision to divert. (click here)
On Sep.4, 2022, a DHC-3 Otter float plane crashed into Mutiny Bay, Washington, killing the pilot and nine passengers. (click here)
The plane, operated by Northwest Seaplanes, was on a flight from Friday Harbor, Washington, to Renton, cruising low over the water when, based on flight data, its altitude and airspeed started to vary. The plane climbed a few hundred feet with its airspeed slowing to around 55 knots, at which point the returns ceased. Witnesses said that the big single then went out of control and spun into the water near vertically from more than a 1,000 feet above the surface. All 10 aboard were killed in the crash, though just one body has been recovered.
Although NTSB investigation claimed the crash may have been caused by a faulty part (click here), experienced pilots have informed me that they believe the pilot of this plane died in-flight, causing the crash (there was no co-pilot).
The pilot was 43 year old Jason Winters. He was a skilled pilot, with decades of experience. Winters did not report trouble or issue a mayday, officials said. The plane just disappeared from flight-control radar screens. (click here)
23 year old Charles Crooks was co-piloting the CASA CN-212 Aviocar on July 29, 2022, dropping skydivers from a rear ramp in a small private field. At some point, he felt sick, and departed the cockpit towards the open rear ramp, then apparently fell out of the aircraft to his death. (click here)
A pilot of a single-engine Cessna 208 became incapacitated and had “gone incoherent” according to a passenger who contacted air traffic controllers on May 10, 2022. (click here)
Air traffic controller advised the passenger to guide the aircraft to the area’s biggest airport, helping the passenger-turned-pilot position his aircraft 8 miles out from Palm Beach International. The passenger landed the plane safely.
The condition of the original Cessna pilot, who had a “possible medical issue” was not immediately known, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Chelsea Brittney Infanger, 30, of Salmon, was the pilot of a single-engine Cessna 208B plane registered to Gem Air. It crashed into the Gem State Processing Plant in Heyburn around 8:35 am. (click here)
Brittney Infanger had been flying for 11 years and was a “well-respected pilot way beyond her years” according to her dad. He says Brittney Infanger flew to this airport all the time and was well aware of any obstacles.
Sierra Lund, a recreational pilot, shudders to think what could have happened if she had been in the cockpit when she started experiencing heart attack-like symptoms. (click here)
Just 18 hours after being injected with a COVID-19 shot, Lund felt intense pain in her chest. She was having trouble breathing. “Walking was a struggle,” she said.
Lund was a well-conditioned, competitive athlete. Neither she nor her relatives had any history of heart issues. And she was just 23. So Lund tried to shrug off her symptoms. They didn’t abate, so she sought emergency medical care.
Now, a year and a half later, her symptoms persist.
Lund was diagnosed with two heart conditions: myocarditis (cardiac muscle inflammation) and pericarditis (inflammation of the sac encasing the heart). Studies have linked both conditions to COVID-19 vaccinations, and Lund says she’s sure the jab is to blame for her new health issues.
As a result, Lund can no longer fly a plane solo. Flying has been her passion since she first got her pilot’s license at age 17.
A large percentage of commercial pilots received the COVID shots after being threatened with losing their jobs if they failed to comply with federal mandates.
Yoder, a commercial pilot, said he has heard from dozens of vaccinated pilots who worry that the shots hurt their health, may be threatening their livelihoods and affecting their ability to fly safely.
“Unfortunately, many of them have been suffering with these issues for quite some time … they were hoping the symptoms would go away,” Yoder told The Epoch Times of conversations he’s had with those in the industry.