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Buffalo Physician Dies in Missouri Plane Crash

By Associated Press

Buffalo, NY – A Buffalo pediatrician killed in a plane crash in Missouri is being remembered by family, friends and colleagues for his sense of humor and his love of teaching.

Dr. Richard Sarkin was among the 13 people who died when the commuter plane crashed Tuesday night while headed for an airport in northern Missouri. Two other passengers survived. The 54-year-old Sarkin on his way to speak at a medical conference in Kirksville, Missouri when the plane went down a few miles from the airport.

Sarkin was in charge of the Newborn Nursery at Women and Children's Hospital in Buffalo and was well known in the Western New York medical community after more than 20 years in the region.

Colleagues say the former middle school science teacher made a name for himself by teaching other doctors how to teach. Sarkin is survived by his wife and two children.