WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Michael Schloss, who died Tuesday when his plane crashed into a Colonia home, was such an experienced pilot that something must have gone catastrophically wrong inside the plane, or Schloss himself suffered some sort of medical episode, the manager of the Linden Airport said.

“Something happened to overwhelm him,” said airport manager Paul Dudley, who said he knew Schloss well and counted him as a friend. “We got no distress calls, nothing from the cockpit to indicate there was a problem. It would have been a routine landing for him. Perhaps he had a health issue.”

Like Dudley, members of the surrounding community and investigators alike were dealing with the recovery and searching for answers as to why such an experienced pilot and respected doctor plummeted from the sky Tuesday morning.

A mother, father and an elementary-age child lived in the home at 84 Berkley Avenue that was hit by the plane, and they were reportedly crying when they saw the charred remains of their home Tuesday, according to nj.com. At the time of the crash, the parents were both at work and the child was at school, neighbors said.

Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac announced a fundraising effort has been established to assist the families impacted by the plane crash and the subsequent fire that spread to two other homes.
This GoFundMe has also been set up for the family that lived at 84 Berkley Avenue.

Schloss was the sole person in the plane. He took off from Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia some time Tuesday morning and was scheduled to land at Linden Airport at 11 a.m., the same time that it crashed, an FAA spokesman said.

At two minutes before 11, less than five miles from the Linden Airport, the plane instead took a sharp nosedive and crashed into the home. The plane exploded, and Schloss’ body remained trapped in the wreckage for hours Tuesday.

The plane’s fuselage, or main body of the aircraft, remained completely inside the home until Wednesday afternoon, when parts of the plane started being pulled out, according to a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, which is on the scene and leading the investigation. The team hopes to get all the wreckage recovered over the next two or three days, he said.

But it still remains unclear what caused the crash.

Schloss, a 74-year-old retired cardiologist who used to practice in New York City and live in the area, took off and landed from the Linden Airport countless times over his career, Dudley said. “He was an exponentially qualified pilot. He also was a licensed aircraft mechanic, truly a Renaissance man. So he knew what he was doing.”

Schloss even docked his plane at Linden Airport for many years when he lived in the area, Dudley said, so he was very familiar with the airport. While Wednesday’s conditions were not good, with low visibility and misty rain, Schloss was very experienced flying by instruments only.

“I’ve known this guy for 30 years. He was very, very experienced,” Dudley said.

Dudley said he was sad over the loss of “a wonderful man.”

“He was not only an accomplished physician, but an accomplished pilot,” he said. “He married a very lovely lady down in Virginia and moved down there, but flew back here often for work. He also would fly his plane often for charity purposes, at his own personal expense.”

Schloss sounded relaxed and calm on radio transmissions from the doomed plane uploaded to LiveATC.net, discussing weather conditions and preparing for landing at Linden.

“November959MikeJuliet New York approach. Are you familiar with the cancellation procedures when you do break out?” the control tower said. (The plane’s registration number, or number on the tail of the aircraft, was N959MJ.)

According to an amateur pilot, this is terminology for flying using only instruments in bad visibility. “Cancellation procedures” means letting the control tower know the plane has safely landed or is very close to landing. “Break out” means the pilot broke out of the cloud cover and can see the ground.

“No problem,” replied the pilot. “I’ll cancel with you as soon as I have the airport in site.”

“Sounds good,” the tower replied. “Proceed direct Linden.”

Later the tower said: “November959MikeJuliet, you’re gonna maintain 2,000. Commence the approach. And uh, as always let me know when you’re able to cancel.” (Inform the tower he landed.)

“November959MikeJuliet, almost home,” the pilot replied.

Community pitches in for family

Woodbridge Township staff will be at the Evergreen Senior Center, 400 Inman Avenue in Colonia, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday to accept donations for the family in the home destroyed by the crash.

Donations in the form of checks payable to the Woodbridge Community Charity Fund and gift cards from established wholesale/retail outlets will be accepted.

Related: Pilot Dies After Plane Crashes Into Woodbridge Home (UPDATE)

Woodbridge Raises Money For Colonia Plane Crash Victims

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