2005 General Aviation Accident Involving Alcohol and Medication Use (N9072J)

Accident Overview and Pilot Background The aircraft was destroyed on impact with terrain after takeoff. The pilot held a private pilot certificate but was not instrument rated. The pilot had reported on a medical certificate application nearly a year before the accident that he was experiencing anxiety due to a divorce and was using alprazolam as needed, bupropion, and chlorpheniramine seasonally. ## Flight Sequence and Radar Data A witness reported that the pilot ordered two Crown Royal whiskeys and diet Cokes between 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM on December 28, 2005, and only diet Coke after 9:30 PM. At 2355, radar returns showed an aircraft with an encoding transponder on a standard VFR 1200 beacon code about 0.5 nautical miles southeast of the departure airport's runway 12 at a pressure altitude of 1,400 feet. The first return was consistent with a departure from runway 12. The aircraft was in a climbing right turn that crossed its departure path. It climbed to a maximum pressure altitude of 2,200 feet before entering a descending right turn. The last recorded return was at 2357 about 1.5 nautical miles southeast of the departure airport at 1,800 feet pressure altitude, after which the target disappeared. ## Toxicology and Regulatory Findings No pre-impact anomalies were detected with the airframe or engine. A Final Forensic Toxicology Accident Report found 47 mg/dL ethanol in the pilot's liver and 43 mg/dL ethanol in muscle. FAA regulation part 91.17 prohibits acting as a crewmember within 8 hours after consuming alcohol or while under the influence of alcohol. The FAA's Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners states that airmen undergoing continuous treatment with anxiolytics, mood-ameliorating drugs, or sedating antihistaminic drugs must be deferred unless cleared by FAA medical authority. The pilot was issued a medical certificate despite this guidance, an issuance not in compliance with the guidance, and the FAA did not appear to detect or correct the error.