A fertility doctor who was accused of using his sperm to impregnate several patients has died, after a plane he was in crashed.
Dr Morris Wortman, 72, from New York, was a passenger in the experimental aircraft that went down on Sunday.
The hand-built plane fell apart mid-flight and according to officers, the pilot was also killed during the crash.
As of Tuesday, the aircraft – identified by the National Transportation Safety Board in the US as a Wittman W-5 Buttercup plane – remains under investigation.
Police said so far the investigation indicates a serious fault downed the plane.
Sheriff Christopher Bourke said: “The wings of the aircraft became detached from the fuselage and fell to the ground in an orchard.”
The fuselage continued west for another 1,000 to 1,500 yards before crashing.
Dr Wortman was well-known in western New York and was often the target of anti-abortion protesters.
In 2021, he was sued by the daughter of one of his patients who became pregnant in the 1980s.
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What was said in the lawsuit?
The lawsuit accused Dr Wortman of secretly using his own sperm while telling the patient looking to conceive that the donor had been a local medical student.
It alleged the doctor kept the secret even after the daughter – his biological offspring – later became his gynaecology patient.
After taking a DNA genealogy test, the daughter discovered that she has at least nine half-siblings, her medical malpractice suit said.
The lawsuit said the follow-up DNA testing with Dr Wortman’s daughter from his first marriage confirmed the genetic link.
He did not comment at the time the lawsuit was filed.