Ok, so I am thinking to myself, why the pilot? Why not one of the passengers?

Logic would tell me that the most experienced person among the survivors would be the pilot. The pilot would be the one who would know how to use any salvageable avionics/radio equipment, survival gear aboard the airplane, be able to figure out where you were, and possibly be the one to know how to contact emergency personnel.

Then I read the article and the only DEAD person was the pilot. Tastes like chicken. Go ahead and eat.