Search Ends For Oklahoma Pilot; Son Says He 'Went Out A Hero'

EDMOND, OK — Search efforts are over for a missing Edmond, Oklahoma, anesthesiologist who was flying a rescue mission for Pilots N Paws and wound up hundreds of miles off course. Now, the U.S. Coast Guard says it believes the plane is thousands of feet below the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Bill Kinsinger took off from Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City last week in a a Cirrus SR22T bound for Georgetown, Texas, to collect a disabled dog. Kinsinger was flying a rescue mission for the nonprofit when his plane went missing. Flight coordinator Monica Marshall, who was tracking his progress, said radar showed he had veered hundreds of miles off course.

Authorities lost sight of Kinsinger on Jan. 3 as his plane moved toward the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Coast Guard air and seacraft, along with a pair of Mexican naval ships, searched for Kinsinger, 55, for five days, covering about 23,000 square miles, the Coast Guard said in a statement late Monday.

"Ending a search is a difficult decision that we put the upmost thought and consideration into," Guard Capt. David Cooper said.

Officials think the plane crashed in the Gulf where the depth is about 3,900 feet, Guard Petty Officer Brandon Giles said on Tuesday.

Authorities said Kinsinger could have lost consciousness due to hypoxia, meaning his brain wasn't getting enough oxygen. Fighter jets tried to steer Kinsinger back on course, but Kinsinger, the only person aboard, seemed unresponsive, NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek said at the time.

On Tuesday, Jacob Kinsinger said his father "went out a hero."

"My dad was the greatest guy I've ever met and he died doing exactly what he loved, saving dogs and flying his airplane," said Kinsinger, 22.

Photo credit: Best Fur Friends Rescue via AP; Rachelle Hurd via AP