WPR20FA018

The noninstrument-rated pilot departed after midnight in dark night conditions. After takeoff, the airplane maneuvered in the vicinity of the airport for 3 minutes before impacting trees on the bank of a river. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot did not hold a current Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate; his most recent medical certificate was issued 4 years before the accident (at which time he reported no previous flight experience). The pilot’s total and recent flight experience could not be confirmed. Postmortem toxicological testing revealed ethanol in the pilot’s blood, vitreous, and urine. The testing also revealed cocaine, benzoylecgonine (cocaine metabolite), cocaethylene (a substance that forms when cocaine is metabolized in the presence of ethanol), and ecgonine methyl ester (cocaine metabolite) in the pilot’s blood and urine. The levels of ethanol in the pilot’s postmortem blood, vitreous, and urine fit a pattern consistent with ethanol consumption. At the time of the pilot’s death, he had a blood ethanol level more than five times the regulatory limit for conducting a flight, which would be expected to produce marked impairment. Unlike the high measured levels of ethanol, the measured levels of cocaine and its metabolites in the pilot’s blood were low. However, postmortem cocaine levels do not directly predict impairing effects, and the effects of cocaine (a central nervous system stimulant) and ethanol (a central nervous system depressant) are not additive. Accordingly, cocaine’s effects on the pilot at the time of the accident flight and how such effects may have interacted with those of ethanol, are unknown. However, the pilot’s decision to perform the flight on a dark night, after consuming alcohol and cocaine, and his failure to maintain terrain clearance are evidence of impaired judgment and performance consistent with known effects of ethanol and cocaine.

On October 31, 2019, at 0119 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150A, N7158X, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Brawley, California. The private pilot and passenger died. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was identified on radar from the time it taxied from the hangars at Brawley Municipal Airport, to just north of the accident site. After the airplane departed runway 8 (at 0116), it turned left and flew westbound just north of the runway. At 0117, about 1.5 nautical miles northwest of runway 8, the airplane turned to the left approximately 225° and crossed the runway on a northeast heading. At 0118 the airplane turned right, and at 0119:31 the airplane made another right turn and was on a southbound heading. The last radar return was at 0119:55 north-northwest of the accident site. The airplane came to rest upright on the shoreline of the Alamo River in desert shrub trees, on a magnetic heading of 257°. The initial impact point was the left wingtip embedded in a desert tree shrub, and about 30 feet from the wing tip was a freshly broken branch. The wreckage path continued on a southeast heading for 80 feet to the main wreckage. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed the left fuel tank was breached and the right fuel tank was intact. Approximately 1/2 gallon of light blue fuel was drained from the aircraft through the left drain valve. The fuel selector was observed in the ON position in the cockpit. Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to each flight control surface. The engine crankshaft was rotated by hand and thumb compression and valve train continuity was confirmed to all cylinders. The examination revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Coroner’s Office, County of Imperial, California, which listed the cause of death as “acute cocaine and ethanol intoxication.” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Forensic Sciences Laboratory performed toxicological testing of postmortem specimens from the pilot. Ethanol was detected at 0.219 g/dL in blood, 0.259 g/dL in vitreous, and 0.320 g/dL in urine. Cocaine was detected at a level too low to quantify in blood, and at 0.505 mg/L in urine. Benzoylecgonine was detected at 0.029 mg/L in blood, and 0.179 mg/L in urine. Cocaethylene was not detected in blood but was found at 0.074 mg/L in urine. The cocaine metabolite ecgonine methyl ester was detected in blood and urine. Ethanol is the intoxicating alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor. It can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance. At high enough levels, ethanol can cause unconsciousness, respiratory depression, and death. FAA regulation imposes strict limits on flying after consuming ethanol. This includes a prohibition on acting as a crewmember of a civilaircraft while having a blood ethanol level of 0.04 g/dL or greater. Cocaine is a stimulant drug that is commonly used illicitly by recreational users. Cocaine is a controlled substance, with a high potential for abuse and dependence, and the FAA considers its use unacceptable for flight. Impairing effects that occur early after recreational cocaine use may include dizziness, restlessness, poor impulse control, and increased risk taking. Attention, perception, coordination, decision making, and task execution may be impaired by effects of cocaine and cocaine withdrawal. Cocaethylene is a substance that forms when cocaine is metabolized in the presence of ethanol in a living person’s body. Cocaethylene has psychoactive effects similar to those of cocaine. Benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester are inactive metabolites of cocaine. The pilot’s most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on November 16, 2015. At that time, the pilot reported no civil flight experience. The pilot’s total flight experience could not be confirmed.