John Simpson McKibbin (January 20, 1947 – March 23, 2016) was an American Democratic politician and businessman in the state of Washington.[1]
John McKibbin | |
|---|---|
 McKibbin's official portrait as a State Representative, 1977 | |
| Clark County Commissioner | |
| In office 1978–1990 | |
| Member of the Washington House of Representatives | |
| In office 1975–1978 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 20, 1947 Lancaster, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 23, 2016 (aged 69) Astoria, Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Nancy McKibbin (m. 1972) |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature |  |
Career
editMcKibbin was born in Lancaster, California.[2] McKibbin moved to Clark County, Washington in 1969, and began his career as a teacher at Columbia River High School.[3][4] He was elected to the Washington House of Representatives from the 49th district in 1974, and in 1978 was elected a Clark County Commissioner with 71 percent of the vote.
McKibbin ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1988 from Washington's 3rd congressional district, coming in third place in the blanket primary behind Democratic state representative Jolene Unsoeld and Republican Bill Wight. He received 26.6% of the vote, and Unsoeld won the general election.[5] McKibbin retired from politics in 1990 and worked as a real estate investor and developer, being appointed president of Identity Clark County in April 2014.[3][6][7]
McKibbin became the CEO of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce in 2003, and served in that position for three years.[8]
Personal life
editMcKibbin was married to wife Nancy for 44 years, and had two daughters, Jennifer and Megan.[9] They attended First Evangelical Church in Vancouver, Washington.[6][10]
Death
editMcKibbin was an avid pilot. On March 23, 2016, at around 3:30 PM, he departed Pearson Field for the Oregon Coast in a North American T-6 Texan with Irene Mustain, widow of Air Force veteran Terry Glen Mustain who died in 2013.[10][11][12] The two were to spread Mustain's ashes on the coast, however the plane he was piloting crashed in the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon at around 3:50 PM. The United States Coast Guard and Clatsop County Sheriff's Office promptly began searches, and McKibbin's body was recovered on March 25.[13][14][15] The plane was recovered from the Columbia River on March 29, 2016.[16]
A vigil was held at Pearson Air Field on March 26, 2016, and a memorial service was held on April 23, 2016, at Columbia Presbyterian Church.[3][9][17][18]
NTSB Report
editOn February 12, 2018, the NTSB issued their report that indicated that the crash was due to loss of control of the aircraft. It also stated that the aircraft was not currently legal to fly as the annual inspection had not been performed. Further, it was not legal for Mr. McKibbin to be flying the aircraft because his required Biennial flight review was not current, and he was taking medications (sertraline and trazodone) that would prohibit him from flying. The report stated that he had been purchasing sertraline from India to prevent the FAA from discovering his use of the medication. The NTSB report stated that he also suffered from Severe depression and undiagnosed Coronary artery disease.[19][20]
References
edit- ^ Our Campaigns.com-John McKibbin[user-generated source]
- ^ Evergreen Memorial Garden Cemetery and Funeral Chapel-John Simpson McKibbin
- ^ a b c Hewitt, Scott (March 26, 2016). "Vigil honors memory of John McKibbin". The Columbian. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ "In Our View: McKibbin Led by Example". The Columbian. March 27, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ "WA District 3 - Blanket Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ a b Brown, Craig; Pesanti, Dameon; Littman, Adam (March 24, 2016). "Columbia River plane crash claims 2 Vancouver residents". The Columbian. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ "Identity Clark County names John McKibbin president". Daily Insider. April 22, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ "Vancouver Chamber Remembers John McKibbin". Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce. March 24, 2016. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Gillespie, Katie (April 23, 2016). "Personal stories mark McKibbin memorial service". The Columbian. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "Pilot was taking woman to spread husband's ashes when plane went down". KGW. March 24, 2016. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ "Terry Glen Mustain Obituary". The Columbian. March 9, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ Weisberg, Brent; Frazier, Amy (March 23, 2016). "Friend: Pilot, passenger went to scatter ashes". Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ "Private plane crashed into Columbia River". The Daily Astorian. March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ Hernandez, Tony (March 24, 2016). "2 people inside missing plane from Vancouver; Coast Guard searches". The Oregonian (Oregonlive.com). Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ Ryan, Jim (March 25, 2016). "Divers recover body of missing pilot whose plane crashed into Columbia River". The Oregonian (Oregonlive.com). Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ Pesanti, Dameon (March 29, 2016). "McKibbin's plane recovered from Columbia River - Recovery comes as lawmakers honor John McKibbin's life and achievements". The Columbian. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ Marshall, Cory (March 26, 2016). "Clark County community holds vigil honoring former commissioner John McKibbin". KATU News. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ "Memorial service planned for John McKibbin - Longtime civic leader and pilot was killed when plane wrecked in Columbia River". The Columbian. April 2, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ "NTSB Probable Cause Report: WPR16FA087". NTSB. February 12, 2018.
- ^ "NTSB Docket: WPR16FA087". NTSB. January 31, 2018.