Friends of a missing pilot have paid tribute to him by finishing the Pilots N Paws animal rescue flight that he was on last Wednesday. Dr. Bill Kinsinger was on his way from Oklahoma City to Austin in his Cirrus SR22 when the aircraft changed course and contact was lost by air traffic control. The plane tracked southeast over the Gulf of Mexico and F-16 pilots observed the pilot slumped over the controls but had to turn back before it is presumed the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed in the Gulf. He and the plane haven’t been found. Waiting for Kinsinger in Austin was a disabled old husky in need of medical care.
A day after Kinsinger went missing, fellow Pilots N Paws volunteers flew to Austin to pick up the old dog and take it back to Oklahoma City temporarily. From there, the dog will be flown to Las Vegas for the care it needs. “Whatever happened to Bill, you know, he did it for this dog out of the goodness of his heart, for the right reasons,” fellow pilot Justin Blackburn told KOKH. “So, it would be, you know, be kind of sad for me to not have that completed.” The dog was in a shelter and has lost the use of its rear legs. A rescue center in Las Vegas will coordinate its care.
