"Drug found in Pilots of Jet Crash"
Bit of a sensationalist headline. Taken from BBC News:
Drug found in pilots of crash jet:
Traces of a non-prescription drug were found in the pilots of a plane which crashed in Birmingham killing five people, a report reveals. The nine-seater Canadair Challenger jet crashed during take-off in 2002.
A report into the crash said frost on the left wing led to the plane going into a rapid roll.
But investigators also concluded the judgement of both pilots may have been impaired by the combined effects of the drug, jet-lag and fatigue.
The plane crashed at Birmingham International Airport in sub-zero temperatures on 4 January.
All five people killed in the crash were US citizens.
Both pilots had disturbed and inadequate sleep for the two nights preceding the accident and it was possible they were suffering from jet-lag .
A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said the plane had been kept on the airport apron the night before the crash where temperatures dipped to minus nine celsius.
The crew did not ensure the wings were clear of frost prior to take off, the report said.
An aviation pathologist found traces of the drug diphenhydramine, a sedative anti-histamine found in a number of products used to aid sleep, in both pilots.
The report revealed: "He concluded that both pilots had disturbed and inadequate sleep for the two nights preceding the accident and that it was possible they were suffering from jet-lag.
"Evidence indicated that both had consumed some alcohol on the evening of 3 January and diphenhydramine was found in their tissues."
The pathologist said this had all "combined to impair the ability of the pilots to deal with the situation with which they were faced."
Two executives from Agco, the US's third biggest farm equipment maker, were among the victims.
The company is best known for making Massey Ferguson tractors and the executives were returning from a management meeting in Coventry.