Prominent Orthopedic Surgeon Was Former Member Of President George H.W. Bush's Medical Support Team

Dr. Clifford H. Turen, a prominent orthopedic trauma surgeon in the Dover, Delaware area was killed Sunday when the single engine Piper PA-28a Cherokee (similar airplane pictured. Not accident aircraft) he was piloting went down in a wooded strip along a farm field just east of Dover. The plane had disappeared from radar amid heavy fog after Turen made an emergency call to air traffic controllers at Dover Air Force Base, police said.

The Dover Post reports that 23-year old Matthew Davis told authorities the plane passed over his house and apparently had engine trouble. "The engine quit, then started, then sputtered and quit again." Delaware Online reports the accident happened about 1935  EST January 13, and the plane's wreckage was found about two hours later.

The 55-year old Turen was a on the staff of Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover, Delaware. He joined Bayhealth in 2011 from the Georgia Orthopedic Trauma Institute where he served as Director and Chair. Previously, he spent 20 years at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he held the positions of Chief of Orthopedic Trauma and Fellowship Director for the Orthopedic Traumatology Fellowship. He was a member of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. He was also a volunteer at the Clarksville Volunteer Fire Department (Howard County, MD)

“Dr. Turen was an exceptional orthopedic surgeon, a passionate teacher, a strong leader and visionary,” Gary Siegelman, MD, Bayhealth’s Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, said in a news release. “He was also a friend and a colleague. He will be sorely missed.”

Dr. Turen served as a Commander in the Medical Corps of the United States Naval Reserve for 28 years and was selected to the Presidential Medical Support Team for President George H. W. Bush during Dr. Turen’s time on active duty.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov