A hypoxia alert has been issued by the Air Safety Institute:
With hypoxia a potential factor in two high-profile incidents of unresponsive pilots, the
Air Safety Institute issued a safety alert reminding pilots of the typical symptoms of hypoxia, outlining strategies for detecting and communicating a hypoxia emergency, and providing further resources.
“Bottom line: If you fly regularly above 10,000 feet msl, a pulse oximeter should be part of your equipment and you should check your oxygen saturation levels regularly during the fight,” the alert states.
According to this AOPA article, the pilot was chairman of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association and had flown a reported 5000 hours in TBM aircraft, so he should have been more than familiar with the systems. His wife, reportedly on board, was also a pilot and would most likely have tried to take over in case her husband was having personal medical problems.
TBM owner?s group chair crashes after becoming unresponsive - AOPA