John Denver

Context: Denver's first marriage was to Anne Martell of St. Peter, Minnesota. She was the subject of his hit "Annie's Song," which he composed in only ten minutes as he sat on a Colorado ski lift after the couple had an argument. They lived in Edina, Minnesota, from 1968 to 1971. Following the success of "Rocky Mountain High," inspired by a camping trip with Anne and some friends, Denver purchased a residence in Aspen, Colorado. He lived in Aspen continuously until his death. The Denvers adopted a boy, Zachary John, and girl, Anna Kate, who Denver would say were "meant to be" theirs. Denver once said, "I'll tell you the best thing about me. I'm some guy's dad; I'm some little gal's dad. When I die, Zachary John and Anna Kate's father, boy, that's enough for me to be remembered by. That's more than enough."  Zachary, who is African-American, was the subject of "A Baby Just Like You," a song that included the line "Merry Christmas, little Zachary" and which he wrote for Frank Sinatra. Denver and Martell divorced in 1982. In a 1983 interview shown in the documentary John Denver: Country Boy (2013), Denver said that career demands drove them apart; Anne said that they were too young and immature to deal with John's sudden mega-success. The ensuing property settlement caused Denver to become so enraged, he nearly choked Martell, then used a chainsaw to cut their marital bed in half.  Denver married Australian actress Cassandra Delaney in 1988, after a two-year courtship. Settling at Denver's home in Aspen, the couple had a daughter, Jesse Belle. Denver and Delaney separated in 1991 and divorced in 1993. Of his second marriage, Denver would later recall that "before our short-lived marriage ended in divorce, she managed to make a fool of me from one end of the valley to the other".  In 1993, Denver pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge, and was placed on probation. In August 1994, while still on probation, he was again charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence after crashing his Porsche into a tree in Aspen. Though a jury trial in July 1997 resulted in a hung jury on the second DUI charge, prosecutors later decided to reopen the case, which was closed only after Denver's accidental death in October 1997. In 1996, the FAA decided that Denver could no longer fly a plane, due to medical disqualification for failure to abstain from alcohol, a condition that the FAA had imposed in October 1995 after his prior drunk-driving conviction.  Denver's talent extended beyond music. Artistic interests included painting, but because of his limiting schedule he pursued photography, saying once "photography is a way to communicate a feeling". Denver was also an avid skier and golfer, but his principal interest was in flying. His love of flying was second only to his love of music. In 1974, he bought a Learjet to fly himself to concerts. He was a collector of vintage biplanes, and owned a Christen Eagle aerobatic plane, two Cessna 210 airplanes, and in 1997, an experimental, amateur-built Rutan Long-EZ. CANNOTANSWER

Question: How did John Denver die?
Answer: In 1996, the FAA decided that Denver could no longer fly a plane, due to medical disqualification for failure to abstain from alcohol,