Autopsy released in fatal Montana plane crash

Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. — The pilot involved in a plane crash that killed 14 people in Butte had no drugs or alcohol in his system and did not appear to suffer from a medical condition before the crash, autopsy and toxicology reports show.

"We've got a 65 year old male adult American that does have some heart disease. There's not enough evidence to say he had the big one. It appears that he didn't," Butte-Silver Bow County Coroner Lee LaBreche said Wednesday.

Federal investigators have said that in Ellison "Buddy" Summerfield's last recorded communications with air traffic controllers he gave no indication of any problems. LaBreche said that supports the premise that there was no medical emergency.

In the autopsy report, Deputy State Medical Examiner Walter Kemp wrote that Summerfield "died as a result of blunt force injuries."

He added that, because he was unable to examine Summerfield's whole heart, "the presence of a pathologic condition of the heart causing this accident cannot be excluded."

Officials have said the violent nature of the crash made the autopsy difficult.

Janet Summerfield, the pilot's widow, said in a news release Tuesday that her husband "habitually piloted his aircraft with an exceptional degree of skill, competence and responsibility."

Janet Summerfield's attorney, Robert J. Hajek of Minnesota, said LaBreche faxed the autopsy results to him. Hajek said Summerfield did not have a heart attack before the March 22 crash, and the pilot's liver was clear of any medications.

"The toxicology report comes out fine," he said. "They did not relate anything with physical conditions to the crash."

The toxicology report said ethanol was found in Summerfield's muscle tissue but not in his liver. The attorney said the substance could have come from spilled fuel from the plane.

The plane was carrying three California families en route to a weeklong ski holiday. Originally destined for Bozeman, the flight diverted to Butte about a half hour before it nose-dived into a cemetery next to the city's airport. All aboard were killed, including seven children under the age of 10.

Federal investigators have not developed a leading theory on what brought down the privately operated Pilatus PC-12, though ice on the plane's wings, overloading and mechanical problems have been mentioned as possibilities.

The plane did not have the "black box" that is required on commercial airliners to record cockpit conversations and flight instrument data.