Dr. Paul Capek, 39, a nationally known radiologist and former resident of the Chicago area, died Friday in an airplane crash in the Grand Canyon. En route from his Manhattan Beach, Calif., home to Chicago, Dr. Capek's single-engine plane went down during severe weather. Dr. Capek, a 20-year veteran pilot, had planned to visit family in Chicago, then continue on to the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-In at Oshkosh, Wis. Born in Czechoslovakia, Dr. Capek left the country with his family in 1968, eventually settling in Des Plaines. He graduated from Forest View High School, Yale University and the University of Chicago Medical School. In 1988, Dr. Capek moved to California, where he later became the director of angiography and interventional radiology at San Pedro Peninsula Hospital. He was on the faculty of the University of Southern California, lectured around the world and published many papers on interventional radiology, a new field
of non-invasive treatment. He was also a mountaineer, scuba diver and skier. Survivors include a daughter, Alexandra; his parents, Vlastimil and Ludmilla; and a brother. (appeared in August 7, 1996 papers)