Pilot Was Alive At Impact In Woodbridge Plane Crash: Report

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The experienced pilot who crashed his plan into a Woodbridge home two weeks ago, Oct. 29, was alive at the time of impact, according to preliminary autopsy results obtained by the New York Post and confirmed by a spokesman for Woodbridge Township.

The pilot, Dr. Michael Schloss, 74, had soot in his lungs. That is an indication he was still breathing when his Cessna 414 — for reasons that are still unknown — took an abrupt nosedive down and crash landed into the back of a home at 84 Berkley Ave. in Colonia at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29.

The plane burst into flames; the home was unoccupied at the time.

The preliminary autopsy report also indicated that Schloss did not have a heart attack just before the crash, as his heart showed no signs of distress.

Schloss was just minutes from nearby Linden Airport, located five miles away, before the crash.

In fact, Linden airport manager Paul Dudley, who said he's known Schloss for decades, said Schloss was such an experienced pilot that he speculated he must have suffered a medical episode in the cockpit.

"Something happened to overwhelm him," Dudley told Patch in the days immediately after the crash. "We got no distress calls, nothing from the cockpit to indicate there was a problem. It would have been a routine landing for him. Perhaps he had a health issue."

Flying conditions that day were extremely poor, with low visibility and misty rain. However, Schloss was very experienced flying "by instruments" only, said Dudley.

"I've known this guy for 30 years. He was very, very experienced," Dudley said.

Schloss, a retired cardiologist who used to practice in New York City, was the sole person in the plane. He took off from Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia some time that Tuesday morning and was scheduled to land at Linden Airport at 11 a.m., an FAA spokesman said.

At two minutes before 11, less than five miles from the Linden Airport, the plane instead took a sharp nosedive and crashed into the home. Schloss' body remained trapped in the burning wreckage for hours.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, told the Post it could take up to two years to determine what exactly brought the plane down that day.

Schloss took off and landed from the Linden Airport countless times over his career, Dudley said. In fact, Schloss even docked his plane at Linden Airport for many years when he lived in the New York/New Jersey area, so he was very familiar with the airport and flying in the area around it.

"He was an exponentially qualified pilot. He also was a licensed aircraft mechanic, truly a Renaissance man. So he knew what he was doing," said Dudley.

Heartbreaking radio transmissions from the doomed plane uploaded to LiveATC.net depict Schloss sounding relaxed and calm, as he discussed weather conditions and prepared for landing at Linden.

"November959MikeJuliet New York approach. Are you familiar with the cancellation procedures when you do break out?" the control tower said. (The plane's registration number, or number on the tail of the aircraft, was N959MJ.)

(This is terminology for flying using only instruments in bad visibility. "Cancellation procedures" means letting the control tower know the plane has safely landed or is very close to landing. "Break out" means the pilot broke out of the cloud cover and can see the ground.)

"No problem," replied Schloss. "I'll cancel with you as soon as I have the airport in site."

"Sounds good," the tower replied. "Proceed direct Linden."

Later the tower said: "November959MikeJuliet, you're gonna maintain 2,000. Commence the approach. And uh, as always let me know when you're able to cancel." (Inform the tower he landed.)

"November959MikeJuliet, almost home," the pilot replied.

People as far as three miles away in neighboring Edison said they could hear the "boom" of the crash when the plane hit the house. Neighbors who live nearby in Colonia said their own homes shook with the impact.

Schloss was the co-clinical director of the NYU Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, and an associate professor of medicine at NYU, People.com reported. His family said he had been flying planes for more than 40 years and also enjoyed restoring vintage planes and performing in air shows.

This GoFundMe has also been set up for the family that lived at 84 Berkley Avenue. Here is an obituary for Schloss: https://rezemfh.com/tribute/details/1732/Michael-Schloss/obituary.html

Related:

Pilot Dies After Plane Crashes Into Woodbridge Home (Oct. 29, 2019)

Something 'Overwhelmed' Him: Mystery In NJ Plane Crash Into Home (Oct. 30, 2019)