Page 1 of 1

AVIATION NEWS: NTSB Points to Alcohol-Impaired Pilot as the Cause of Alaska Accident

Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 11:56 pm
by News
Image

Student pilot onboard was also drunk.
By Rob Mark

October 15, 2020 It’s a well-known fact too much alcohol can alter a person’s mood, behavior and coordination, not to mention impairing their decision-making abilities. Aviators are not immune to the complications surrounding alcohol as some professional pilots have learned when they were removed from revenue flights after another crewmember or gate agent smelled alcohol on their breath. It’s not often that general aviation pilots flying while intoxicated become news, but an accident that occurred near Girdwood, Alaska, in August 2019 points directly to the pilot’s alcohol impairment as the cause.

A Piper PA22-150 was destroyed by impact and a post-crash fire after it struck a 5,512 foot ridge about 15 feet below the peak. The 31-year old ATP-rated pilot and three passengers died in the accident that took place in good VFR weather. Following the accident, the NTSB reported toxicological testing showed the pilot’s bloodstream contained a concentration of alcohol 5.5 times higher than the regulatory limit for pilots. Testing also showed the student pilot certificate holder onboard also showed significant amounts of alcohol.

The NTSB report said, “While the acute effects of ethanol can vary depending on an individual’s frequency of use, body weight, and tolerance, in general, at blood ethanol concentrations as low as 0.02 gm/dl there is relaxation and some loss of judgment; at 0.05 gm/dl, there is further degradation of judgment, psychomotor functioning, and alertness. At blood ethanol concentrations above 0.10 gm/dL, there is prolonged reaction time, altered perception of the environment, lack of coordination, slowed thinking, and mood and behavioral changes. Above 0.15 gm/dl, individuals may have significant loss of muscle control and major loss of balance. In addition to worsening motor coordination and disorientation, at concentrations above 0.20 gm/dl, individuals may experience amnesia or blackouts and double vision.” Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected ethanol in the pilot’s blood at 0.252 gm/dl.

A close friend of the pilot and the student-pilot passenger told the NTSB, “The purpose of the flight was to take friends on a 15- to 20-minute aerial tour of the Girdwood Valley. Following the completion of the tour, the pilot, also a friend of the airplane owner, was going to fly the airplane to Montague Island. [The witness] said ‘the pilot and airplane owner had consumed alcohol earlier in the day and that he’d received a text that they were drinking, in addition to, a text that they were at the local mercantile purchasing beer. The two friends had an argument the day before, and it was a tradition to drink after reconciling their differences. He also said the pilot was a heavy drinker when not working.’” One witness said he saw the Piper “…performing aggressive flight maneuvers as it approached the ridge before it pitched up and enter a steep climb before disappearing from view.” Another said he saw the aircraft “make a steep turn to the north and the ridgeline followed by a descent, and shortly thereafter observed a cloud of black smoke.” Another reported, “the airplane didn’t appear to have enough altitude to clear the ridge and made no attempt to initiate a climb.” Paraphrasing the Board’s final comments, the pilot was simply too drunk to realize he was about to fly the Piper into a mountain.

From Flying Magazine https://www.flyingmag.com/story/news/ntsb-alaska-accident-alcohol-impairment/

The post NTSB Points to Alcohol-Impaired Pilot as the Cause of Alaska Accident
first appeared on Scudrunners News.

Source: https://www.news.scudrunners.com/ntsb-p ... -accident/

Re: AVIATION NEWS: NTSB Points to Alcohol-Impaired Pilot as the Cause of Alaska Accident

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 2:30 am
by Scudrunner
Let's slam a few beers and taker for a rip eh!

Re: AVIATION NEWS: NTSB Points to Alcohol-Impaired Pilot as the Cause of Alaska Accident

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 2:39 am
by Nark
I’m just impressed that he had a license to begin with. Being Alaska and all.

Re: AVIATION NEWS: NTSB Points to Alcohol-Impaired Pilot as the Cause of Alaska Accident

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:10 am
by Scudrunner
No kidding, I came across a few of the wild ones from AK while in the Yukon.

Most memorable was a guy with his family in a Cherokee 140. Thing looked beat to shit, faded paint with rust on the jugs.

He landed in Haines Junction YHT and asked for fuel, so I started pumping and began to chat.
Story goes he was on his way to Whitehorse from Fairbanks then onto the lower 48 selling his plane.
He was up at 14,000 to get over the weather and got lost, caught sight of the highway and my airport and landed.

He was late on his time for CANPASS ETA at YXY so he was in a hurry. :lol:
I took his money and suggest he call Whitehorse radio on 126.7 to give ATC a heads up he's late and his new ETA.

he thanks me then asked what Whitehorse tower frequency was as he planned to buy a map when he got there.
Far as I know he made it, never heard anyone looking for a missing plane that fit the description but then again would anyone have missed him if no one knew he was flying?

Re: AVIATION NEWS: NTSB Points to Alcohol-Impaired Pilot as the Cause of Alaska Accident

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:35 am
by The Dread Pilot Roberts
One witness said he saw the Piper “…performing aggressive flight maneuvers as it approached the ridge before it pitched up and enter a steep climb before disappearing from view.”
Maybe he was racing Doug Masters! Flying Yes! Dying No! well.......yes

Re: AVIATION NEWS: NTSB Points to Alcohol-Impaired Pilot as the Cause of Alaska Accident

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 2:36 pm
by Scudrunner
I got a Reggies Flying School Shirt in the store



https://store.scudrunners.com/product/r ... e-t-shirt/

Image