A neurosurgeon who worked with a Connecticut-based medical group has been identified as the pilot who was killed in the crash of a small airplane in northern West Virginia, police said.
West Virginia State Police and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim Wednesday as Dr. Thomas Kaye, 67, of Haydenville, Massachusetts, news outlets reported.
Kaye was the only person aboard the plane, which crashed and caught on fire Monday in woods in an unincorporated area between Fairmont and Grafton, State Police Sgt. Robert Garrison said.
Kaye was flying from Indiana to Massachusetts and had stopped at the North Central West Virginia Airport near Bridgeport for refueling, said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson.
Taylor County Sheriff Terry Austin said it’s believed Kaye had just purchased the plane and was flying it home.
Kay worked with the Trinity Health of New England Medical Group in Waterbury, Connecticut.
“On Monday our community lost my friend and our colleague Dr. Tom Kaye to an aviation accident. I have known and worked with Tom for over 20 years and his kindness, focus on patient care, and willingness to assist other colleagues was unmatched,” Dr. Christopher Comey, chairman of the Department of Surgery and Chief Physician Executive of Surgery Service Line and Saint Francis Hospital, said.
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“Tom was happily retired when I asked him to come on board to work with Dr. Michael Hill at Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury. He willingly returned to patient care with great skill and enthusiasm. Tom also spent some time at Saint Francis Hospital as things got set up in Waterbury. I received continual feedback that he was kind and patient when called at any hour of the day or night. Tom was truly a special person, and our community mourns his passing,” Comey said in a statement.
