The cause was a hypertensive stroke, said his wife, Nancy Sharkey, a retired Times editor. The executive jet managed to land safely at a remote military airport, but the Gol Linhas Aéreas commercial airliner it collided with did not have such a fortunate fate: It nose-dived to the ground, killing all 154 people on board. It was the deadliest civilian aviation accident in Brazil at the time. The collision prompted inquiries by Brazil’s military and by American transportation safety investigators. Both placed blame on air traffic controllers but never fully resolved who was at fault or why the planes were flying at the same altitude.

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Persons: Joe Sharkey, Nancy Sharkey, Mr, Sharkey Organizations: The New York Times, Boeing, Business Jet, Embraer Locations: The, Brazil, Tucson, Ariz