Respected Shreveport, Louisiana-based radiologist Clifton Coffman, MD, died in a single-engine airplane crash on Monday, according to local authorities.
Returning home from a hunting trip in Nebraska, the 79-year-old and his travel companion smashed into a house before making an unplanned landing in the backyard of a McCook home. The crash occurred about an eighth of a mile southwest of Ben Nelson Regional Airport, where it had taken off just before noon.
Coffman practiced at Red River Consultants and Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport, serving as chief of radiology at the latter for 25-plus years, according to an online biography. His interests included traveling with his wife Dianne, flying, tennis, exercise and shooting sports.
“He was always very accessible, easy to talk to and one of the people who was always there during those times,” colleague Phillip A. Rozeman, MD, a cardiologist with Willis-Knighton, told local TV station KTBS on Tuesday. “He was a great man; people loved him … I know he loved hunting and fishing and all the outdoors. But we'll certainly miss him.”
Coffman, who was piloting the plane, died from his injuries on the scene, according to local authorities. Meanwhile, 65-year-old passenger Henry Richter of Shreveport is being treated for his injuries at the Hospital of McCook. Two hunting dogs also reportedly survived the crash and are being cared for in the southwest Nebraska city, which is known for its access to fishing and hunting.
The small airplane, a Piper PA-46, first left Louisiana for McCook on Friday, according to federal aviation records.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.