Pilot dead in crash after overshooting airport

A single-engine plane crashed in a heavily wooded area of West Virginia after the pilot apparently lost consciousness and flew hundreds of miles past the airport where he was supposed to land.

[MGAndrew]

Just like the Payne Stewart crash. When you loose your oxygen at 25,000 you go to sleep pretty fast. 25,000 feet is the maximum operating altitude for this aircraft

[Thom]

Maybe they should lower the age for flying from the current age of 65 back to age 60 where it was before. Too many pilots over age 60 are dying at the controls.

[just wondering]

Why would you send planes up to follow an aircraft until it crashed? Once the NG pilots realized the pilot was unconscious, was there nothing else that could have been done to prevent the crash?

[Richard_]

Thom wrote:

Maybe they should lower the age for flying from the current age of 65 back to age 60 where it was before. Too many pilots over age 60 are dying at the controls.

Mandatory retirement at age 65 is for airline pilots, not private pilots or air taxi pilots.

[Richard_]

just wondering wrote:

Why would you send planes up to follow an aircraft until it crashed? Once the NG pilots realized the pilot was unconscious, was there nothing else that could have been done to prevent the crash?

If the military pilots or the Department of Defense could have possibly maybe predicted that that the plane might possess a possible chance of hitting the pentagon, then the pilots and DOD might have been able to try think about thinking of trying to think about wanting to shoot the plane down maybe.