Dr. John William "Bill" Kinsinger. The plane Kinsinger was piloting disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico. [Photo Provided by White Paws German Shepherd Rescue]

As a small plane piloted by Oklahoma City anesthesiologist John William "Bill" Kinsinger flew off course in early January, fighter pilots quickly took to the sky to intercept the plane.

“We're actually scrambling on him because I guess, we think maybe he might be passed out,” a fighter pilot is heard saying on audio from controllers in the Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center.

On Thursday, The Oklahoman obtained a copy of the recording from the Federal Aviation Administration.

On Jan. 3, Kinsinger took off from Wiley Post Airport and headed to Central Texas, where he was going to rescue an ailing dog and bring it back to Oklahoma City. Kinsinger made such missions a regular part of his life.