Sep 13, 2009 | 2 min read

Plane Accident Kills Pilot in Virginia Beach

Five airplanes were practicing for an aerial demonstration. Everything was going smoothly until the very end. One of the five planes failed to properly pull up while in descent and crashed killing the pilot in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA).

My deepest condolences go out to the pilot’s friends and family.

It turns out the pilot suffered from a cardiac condition and became incapacitated during the flight, according to Aviation News. What’s troubling is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knew about the pilot’s medical issues and denied his application for a medical certificate on an earlier occasion. Granted, the pilot falsified information on at least three applications for medical certification regarding his evaluation and treatment for cardiac conditions.

As an injury lawyer who’s represented people in plane accidents, I think it’s so tragic when incidences like this occur and it’s clear something should have been done in terms of monitoring the pilot’s flight activities.

The medical records indicate a protracted history of chest pain, an enlarged heart, and intermittent atrial fibrillation. The pilot was using a blood thinner and beta-blocker medication to reduce their heart rate, and was using an alpha-blocker medication that also reduced blood pressure. If the pilot had these medications in his system during his flight, they could have played a role in his sudden incapacitation while in the air.

For many pilots, participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program is essential to achieve the minimal functional capacity in exercise testing, document tolerance of medications, and achieve successful rehabilitation in order to obtain the certification the pilot who died had such trouble attaining.

A full investigation needs to be conducted to see how much the FAA knew at the time this pilot was allowed to fly a plane. It’s pretty clear he should not have received authorization given his physical ailments.