John Simpson McKibbin (January 20, 1947 – March 23, 2016) was an American Democratic politician and businessman in the state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Career

McKibbin was born in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

. McKibbin moved to

Clark County, Washington Clark County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 503,311, making it Washington's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Vancouver. It was the first ...

in 1969, and began his career as a teacher at

Columbia River High School Columbia River High School (CRHS) is a public high school in Vancouver, Washington, United States. It is part of the Vancouver Public Schools system and opened in 1962. Columbia River has over 1,200 students. Columbia River is a magnet school in ...

. 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 The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1988 from

Washington's 3rd congressional district Washington's 3rd congressional district encompasses the southernmost portion of Western Washington. It includes the counties of Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania; as well as a small portion of southern Thurston county. ...

, coming in third place in the blanket primary behind Democratic state representative

Jolene Unsoeld Jolene Bishoprick Unsoeld (December 3, 1931 – November 28, 2021) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A Democrat, Unsoeld represented Washington's 3rd congressiona ...

and Republican Bill Wight. He received 26.6% of the vote, and Unsoeld won the general election. 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. McKibbin became the CEO of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce in 2003, and served in that position for three years.

Personal life

McKibbin was married to wife Nancy for 44 years, and had two daughters, Jennifer and Megan. They attended First Evangelical Church in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

Death

McKibbin was an avid pilot. On March 23, 2016, at around 3:30 PM, he departed

Pearson Field Pearson Field also once known as Pearson Airpark, is a city-owned municipal airport located one mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district of Vancouver, a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. Pearson Field is the ...

for the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

in a

North American T-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

with Irene Mustain, widow of Air Force veteran Terry Glen Mustain who died in 2013. The two were to spread Mustain's ashes on the coast, however the plane he was piloting crashed in the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

near

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

at around 3:50 PM. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

and

Clatsop County Clatsop County () is the northernmost county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. The county seat is Astoria. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coas ...

Sheriff's Office promptly began searches, and McKibbin's body was recovered on March 25. The plane was recovered from the Columbia River on March 29, 2016. 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.

NTSB Report

On February 12, 2018, the

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inc ...

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 A flight review is a study program and flight instructor examination of aviation piloting skills. Periodic flight reviews are a pilot licensing requirement mandated by the aviation authorities of many countries. These reviews take different forms in ...

was not current, and he was taking medications (

sertraline Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an Antidepressant, antidepressant medication of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class used to treat major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, socia ...

and

trazodone Trazodone is an antidepressant medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and insomnia. It is a phenylpiperazine compound of the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor (SARI) class. The medication is taken or ...

) that would prohibit him from flying. The report stated that he had been purchasing

from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to prevent the FAA from discovering his use of the medication. The

report stated that he also suffered from

Severe depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introd ...

and undiagnosed

Coronary artery disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), or ischemic heart disease (IHD), is a type of cardiovascular disease, heart disease involving Ischemia, the reduction of blood flow to the cardiac muscle due to a build-up ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKibbin, John 1947 births 2016 deaths Clark County Councillors Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives People from Lancaster, California Politicians from Vancouver, Washington Businesspeople from Vancouver, Washington Educators from Washington (state) Accidental deaths in Oregon Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States 20th-century American businesspeople Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2016 20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature