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Keloland.com
March 29, 2102
LARCHWOOD, IA – Employees at the Dr. Robert Akins Sinus Specialty Clinics in Sioux Falls have confirmed the company’s namesake was killed in a plane crash.
Authorities say 57-year-old Robert Akins was killed in a plane crash at the Larchwood Airport in Iowa.
Authorities received a call Wednesday just after 1 p.m. about a plane crash at the Zangger Airport. The crash happened as Akins attempted to land a single-seat plane and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The FAA will be on site to conduct an investigation. At this time, colleagues are not commenting. According to his company’s website, Dr. Akins attended the University of Arkansas where he received his medical degree. His residency training in Otolaryngology was received at Duke University. For over 20 years, Dr. Akins has specialized in treating people with sinus problems only.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane after landing.
On March 28, 2012, about 1230 central daylight time, a Walling Vans RV-3, N34WC, collided with terrain shortly after landing on runway 30 at Zangger Vintage Airport (K2VA), Larchwood, Iowa. The private pilot, the sole occupant on board, was fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight had originated from Marv Skie-Lincoln County Airport (KY14), Tea, South Dakota, about 1115.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who went to the site, the pilot had landed on runway 30, and the airplane went off the right side of the runway into an adjacent corn field. The airplane’s main landing gear became mired in soft earth and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The canopy and vertical stabilizer were crushed. The pilot was strapped securely in his seat via a five-point restraint system.
The pilot was a 57-year-old physician. He held a third class airman medical certificate, dated February 27, 2012, with no restrictions or limitations. On his application for medical certification, he did not report taking fluoxetine or trazodone.
A toxicology screen performed by FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) indicated 1.509 (ug/mL, ug/g) fluoxetine (Prozac) and 0.866 (ug/mL, ug/g) norfluoxetine were detected in Illiac blood. Fluoxetine and norfluoxetine were also detected in urine. In addition, Trazodone was detected in both Illiac blood and urine.