Autopsy: Heart failure killed plane crash victim
John Bialek suffered a heart attack moments before or after the medical transport plane he was riding in crashed in Riverwoods, authorities said Thursday.
Bialek, 80, of Streamwood, who was a patient onboard the Piper PA-31 that crashed in a wooded-area late Monday night, died from the heart attack caused, in part, by the stress of the crash, officials from the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
The results stem from an autopsy performed Wednesday, officials said. Bialek was one of three people who died in the crash.
Lake County Deputy Coroner Mike Reed said preliminary autopsy results of Ilomae Bialek, 75, and pilot William Didier, of Cedar Grove, Wis., show both died from blunt force trauma stemming from the impact of the crash.
Those autopsies were also performed Wednesday, Reed said, adding they won't be official until toxicology results are returned in a couple of weeks.
John Bialek's autopsy was done by the Cook County medical examiner's office because he died in Cook County while being rushed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge immediately after the crash.
Ilomae Bialek and Didier's autopsies were done in Lake County because the two were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Officially, the autopsy on John Bialek showed he suffered from coronary atherosclerosis, which is the hardening and narrowing of arteries that supply blood to the heart. Medical examiner officials said the heart attack was caused by the coronary atherosclerosis and the stress of the crash.
Two others onboard the plane — a pilot-rated passenger and a medic — survived and are being treated for nonlife threatening injuries at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, officials said.
All five were onboard when someone in the plane radioed air traffic controllers claiming the plane was out of fuel and coasting, a control tower audio recording shows.
The National Traffic Safety Board officials said the pilot reported the plane was low on fuel when it crashed. Investigators say they are examining if the weather, the pilot's background and the history of the aircraft factored into the accident.
The plane was heading to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling from West Palm Beach, Fla., where the Bialeks also have a home.
The plane is owned by Trans North Aviation Ltd., an air transportation company that operates bases in Chicago, Eagle River and Green Bay, Wis., and Charleston, S.C.