The Alaska pilot who died after his plane clipped the building where his wife works and then crashed in downtown Anchorage committed suicide, a family spokeswoman said Friday.
But there is no evidence to suggest that Doug Demarest was trying to harm his wife Katherine or anyone else, Jahna Lindemuth told the Associated Press.
Lindemuth is a managing partner at the Dorsey & Whitney law firm where the widow works. She could not be reached immediately for additional comment.
There also was no confirmation of Lindemuth's assertion from the Federal Aviation Administration, the NTSB, and the FBI, all of which are investigating Tuesday's crash.
Demarest, 42, of Anchorage, was not authorized to use the Cessna 172 he wound up slamming into an unoccupied commercial building, the feds said.
It belongs to the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force made up of volunteers who help with search and rescue missions and with disaster relief, according to a statement from the national group.
Demarest joined the patrol in 2010.
Nobody on the ground was hurt in the fiery early morning crash and there was no indication that anyone else was aboard the plane, the feds said.
