Thursday, February 23, 2012

A medical examiner didn't find any evidence that an 82-year-old pilot had a medical problem before the plane he was flying crashed in central Arkansas last year.

The crash in November near Perryville killed the pilot, his wife, Oklahoma State University womens' basketball coach Kurt Budke and his assistant.

The Associated Press obtained copies of their autopsy reports and toxicology tests under the Freedom of Information Act.

The autopsy results showed that pilot Olin Branstetter's death was "essentially instantaneous," but a medical examiner couldn't determine much more because his remains were in bad shape after the crash.

Toxicology tests didn't find any drugs in his system.

Authorities didn't request toxicology tests for his wife, Paula, or Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna.