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Report: McKibbin’s medical issues likely caused fatal plane crash

National Transportation Safety Board releases findings of its investigation into March 2016 plane crash that killed two Vancouver residents

By Andy Matarrese, Columbian environment and transportation reporter
Published: April 15, 2018, 7:13pm

Medical problems may have contributed to the loss of control in a March 2016 small plane crash that killed two Vancouver residents, including pilot and Clark County luminary John McKibbin, according to investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board.

McKibbin likely lost control during a low-altitude maneuver to spread a passenger’s husband’s ashes. Investigators determined that the most probable cause of the crash was McKibbin’s medical issues — which included an insufficiently treated sleep disorder, severe heart disease, depression and possible lingering concussion damage.

McKibbin, 69, and his passenger, Irene Mustain, 63, were killed when McKibbin’s WWII-era plane crashed into the Columbia River near Astoria, Ore., on March 23, 2016.

The two took off from Pearson Airfield in McKibbin’s plane, a 1941 North American AT-6A military trainer, with the intent to spread Mustain’s husband’s ashes over the Columbia River near Astoria, Ore. Their plane went down around 4 p.m.

According to the final report on the crash, the maneuver to spread the ashes required the pilot to slow down and make a banking turn. The move allows a passenger to open the canopy and hold out and open a bag carrying the ashes, so they can disperse in the wind.

Witnesses described seeing the plane flying low and slow over the river, then rolling left before diving into the water, according to investigators.

An examination of the wreckage found the rear sliding canopy door was most likely open at the time of the crash. Also, investigators did not find the ash dispersal bag, leading them to think the crash likely occurred during the ash-spreading process.

Based on his most recent logs, according to the NTSB, McKibbin had more than 1,200 hours of total flight time, and one previous incident in 2004 where his plane stalled on takeoff in windy conditions.

No one found anything in the plane’s airframe or engine that would have created a problem, the NTSB said. Crash investigators did find several maintenance discrepancies, namely that the plane was 10 months overdue for an annual inspection and McKibbin was several months late on a flight review, but none of those discrepancies would have resulted in what witnesses saw, investigators said.

McKibbin’s autopsy found that he had severe, and apparently undiagnosed, coronary artery disease, leaving him susceptible to heart attack or stroke.

A look at his medical records found that he was also using a sleep aid, one which can lead to increased risk of arrhythmias in patients people with cardiac disease.

The review of his medical records also found that he had been treating fatigue caused by sleep apnea with a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine, but data from the machine showed he did not use it with the frequency and duration required by the FAA.

Due to a sports injury, McKibbin also experienced post-concussion symptoms in 2014 and 2015 significant enough that he stopped flying, driving or working for several months, investigators found.

Those symptoms were thought to be resolved, but investigators noted that he hadn’t undergone any formal medical evaluation.

He also dealt with a depression disorder from at least 1999. The records show a remission in symptoms, and a cessation of medication, between 2002 and 2004. However, he told a personal physician in 2014 that he had continued to use the antidepressant sertraline, sold as Zoloft, and had been buying it from India out of concern for FAA regulations.

The drug is not generally considered sedating, according to the investigators. Antidepressant drug use is usually disqualifying for pilots’ medical certification purposes, but the FAA authorizes pilots on some antidepressants, including sertraline, to fly on a case-by-case basis.

He did not report the use of the sleep aid or antidepressant to his FAA medical examiner, investigators said.

“The pilot had a number of medical conditions which could have contributed to him becoming inattentive, distracted, or debilitated during flight,” the investigators wrote in their report. “He could have had a stroke or sudden cardiac event leading to a loss of control. Further, the negative cognitive effects from chronic fatigue resulting from his inadequately treated sleep disorders, chronic depression, and neurocognitive deficits from postconcussive syndrome would have increased the likelihood of the pilot failing to effectively manage airplane control while either setting up for, or during performance of the ash dispersal maneuvers.”

The flight was on what would have been Irene Mustain’s late husband’s 69th birthday. Terry Mustain was an Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran, and the flight was chartered to spread his ashes along the Pacific coast near a beach house the couple owned in Ocean Shores. If the weather looked bad, they were to try spreading the ashes over the river instead.

McKibbin was a private pilot and prominent Clark County citizen. He taught at Columbia River High School and spent two terms as a state representative for the 49th Legislative District before going on to become a Clark County commissioner. He left elected office in 1990 to work in real estate and development, and also served in numerous volunteer and leadership capacities for local organizations, including the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Clark County, and, most recently, Identity Clark County.

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Columbian environment and transportation reporter