NTSB: Flight Instructor in Lake Harney Plane Crash That Killed 3 was Impaired by Opioids
A newly released National Transportation Safety Board report about a December 2017 plane crash that killed the three people aboard suggests the cause of the crash was the pilot's loss of aircraft control, and the flight instructor's delayed action because of his use of opioid pain medication.
The aircraft, identified as a Beech C90, crashed into the waters of Lake Harney, which straddles the Volusia and Seminole County lines, at about 11:15 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2017. A student pilot, a flight instructor and a passenger died in the crash. The names of those who perished were not included in the report.
The flight instructor was identified as a 56-year-old man and the student pilot was identified as a 23-year-old man. The age and gender of the passenger was not included in the report.
The recovery of the wreckage from the lake spanned about eight days, the report said. The wreckage was spread throughout a 200-square-foot area along the bottom of the lake.
The chief flight instructor at L3 Airline Academy in Sanford reported that the flight in the Beech C90 was the student pilot's first as part of their High-Performance Aircraft course, according to the report.
A Medical Examiner's autopsy report indicated that the flight instructor's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries.
Toxicology testing identified significant amounts of oxycodone and oxymorphone in the flight instructor's liver tissue, the aviation accident report shows. Oxycodone was also found in his muscle.
The flight instructor's wife reported that her husband had back issues. She was unsure of the extent, but knew that he took prescription ibuprofen, the aviation accident report shows. She could not recall if her husband had a prescription for oxycodone or oxymorphone.
Autopsies were also performed on the student pilot and the passenger, which revealed that their cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries.
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