206 crash in FL 2/16/02 [Archive]

Barannfin

19th Aug 2003, 10:27

I couldn't find the old thread about this, not sure if there was one.

Las Vegas Sun article (http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2003/aug/18/081810829.html)

The article reports the pilots BAC at .11%, but it seems that if the weather hadn't been so bad he might still be alive.

NTSB report (http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20020220X00233&ntsbno=ATL02FA048&akey=1)

The toxicology report was confusing to me, can anybody make sense of this?

GLSNightPilot

20th Aug 2003, 06:21

Acetaldehyde is a decomposition product of ethanol, I believe. N-propanol I think is rubbing alcohol, but that level may be natural. It's common for ethanol to form in bodies as a product of decomposition, & it's often present in some levels in autopsied bodies, depending on how long the body has been dead. I took the note that the passenger's body had no alcohol as a way of indicating that the level in the pilot's body wasn't from natural processes.

Lots of people have had the same epitaph - 'if the weather hadn't been so bad'. Alcohol degrades judgment, & taking off in that weather in the dark is just poor judgment, IMO, especially if you've been using alcohol.