Pilot in the airplane crash was visually impaired...at the time of the crash!

An Alabama pilot who died in a crash near the Central Illinois Regional Airport lost control of the plane because he was suffering from a medical emergency, federal investigators say.The National Transportation Safety Board released the probable cause of the Nov. 9, 2005, crash that killed James L. Gross, 66.“The aircraft control (was) not possible by the pilot during a visual approach to the runway due to the physical impairment of the pilot,” said the board in its report. The report was completed Nov. 29 but only recently released to the public.

Medical reports released at a McLean County coroner’s inquest in June 2006 showed Gross suffered from a tear in his aorta during his attempt to land the twin-engine cargo plane at the Bloomington airport.NTSB also stated, “The condition would most likely have been fatal regardless of the circumstances under which it occurred.”Gross was flying parts for Caterpillar Inc. from Peoria to Smithfield, N.C.

He reported to air traffic controllers he was having problems with the plane’s right engine and requested clearance to land at Bloomington.During the flight, Gross declined to declare an emergency, which would have given him priority over all other aircraft operating in and out of the Bloomington airport.The plane crashed in a field about a mile southeast of the airport.