Chris Cline

[5] Cline, who spent $300 million on mining rights and equipment in Illinois in the 1990s, had foreseen that the United States Environmental Protection Agency would require power plants to use scrubbers in removing pollutants, which would bring coal back into viability for electricity generation.

[10] The company SNL Financial reported in 2008 that Deer Run coal mine in Montgomery County, Illinois, a project of Cline's Hillsboro Energy LLC, would produce up to eight million tons annually until 2016.

In the same report, Cline's representatives stated he was aiming for an annual coal production of 60 million tons from his Illinois operations.

[11] Illinois environmental groups and landowners attempted to block Cline's coal mine operations, and also sought to draw attention to his local political contributions.

The donation created the Christopher Cline Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery and helped fund a new basketball practice facility.

[14] In July 2011, Marshall University received a donation of $5 million from the Cline Family Foundation for sports medicine research.

[16][17] Cline owned a 33,413-square-foot (3,104.2 m2) mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida, and a home in his native Beckley, West Virginia, with a 150-acre (61 ha) property.

[22] In 2015, Jasper Reserves, LLC, owned by Cline, donated one million dollars to Super PACs supporting the presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush.

[24] On or around June 26, 2012, Shah threatened to kill members of Cline's family if $13 million was not wired to an offshore bank account.

[25] A seven-count felony indictment against Shah was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in September 2012, and in 2013 he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

[27][28] Others who perished in the crash with Cline included his 22-year-old daughter Kameron and three of her friends (Brittney Searson, Jillian Clark and Delaney Wykle).

[27][28][30] In a 2021 report, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the two pilots chose to take off, likely feeling pressured by Cline, despite dark conditions and lack of visual references over water.