Drink & Die

What happened? First of all, the official wrap-up alleged the pilot was guilty of inadequate flight preparation and/or planning. There was no indication that he’d received a weather briefing. Pity, because when he flew into the blind Canyon in worsening weather, he had no idea that the met for the area had forecast low ceiling, rain and fog.

The crunch came when he realised, too late, that he’d boxed himself in, into a classic situation. He tried to steep-turn out of the canyon in winds gusting to 25 knots, misjudged his height, speed and clearance and flew straight into a stuffed bank of fog.

There was rain and a 100 ft ceiling when he impacted. The pilot probably didn’t care too much – his blood alcohol level was high enough to burn with a clear blue flame.

And what about the 37-year-old PPL holder, whose body wasn’t recovered from the wreck of an Aeronca 7EC for some months after he’d speared into the bush?

Investigators found the pilot plus aircraft had gone down in an uncontrolled descent. The 2000-hour pilot’s body had enough left in it to deliver the answer that he had 366 cent m1lhgrams of alcohol m what was left in his blood.

People in the district are still talking about the 48-year-old Commercial pilot who not only destroyed himself but also two other human beings in homes he crashed into after his Piper PA-23 dived into a group of houses.

The pilot was tired, said investigators – he was also more than a little under the weather, as an autopsy revealed a 0. 1 per cent alcohol level in a liver specimen taken from his body after the prang.

A factor contributing to the crash was that he’d wound on full nose-down trim; the pilot was apparently aware of that, but hadn’t counted on the 45 lb force needed to counteract the trim condition. A pity to waste such an experienced pilot – he had nearly 8000 hours in his logbook.

Another 0. 1 per cent blood alcohol level was found in the body of an uncertificated person who stole a Cessna 140 at night.

He crashed after fuel mismanagement resulted in the Cessna engine dying. The aircraft went in after a low pass and a resultant stall-mush situation.

Another death by night came to yet another person who stole a Piper PA-28. He was only 22, a student pilot with 17 hours in his logbook.

He apparently tried some fancy flying, got into a classic spatial disorientation condition and came down in what was officially described as an uncontrolled descent. His blood alcohol level was 0. 26.

Strangeness in the drunk-producing fluid surrounded the death – again by night – of the 52-year-old pilot who killed himself and a Piper PA-32 during a low pass.

Doctors found 0. 24 per cent ethyl alcohol in his blood.

It took six months to find the wreck of a Piper PA-34 and the bodies of its pilot and four passengers after the aircraft was reported missing during a night flight.

The pilot had apparently misjudged his clearance height over rising ground and flown straight in, in cruise configuration.

Despite the time lapse between prang and recovery, the pilot’s body still yielded 0. 08 per cent blood alcohol level.

It had been a pleasant evening for the 23-year-old pilot of a Beech C-24R and his three passengers. He had 200 hours up, 20 on type, and had so far done all the right things.

That is, until he flew into a blind alley – a box canyon – near a mountainous ridge line, and caught fire. . . The artificial finishing was unwarranted low flying during an m-fight climb to the cruise phase. His blood alcohol level is 0. 07 per cent.

A sad and stupid loss was the life of a 35-year-old airline transport-rated pilot with 6500 hours in, instrument rated and with 1000 hours on type – a Piper PA-30 in which he and his co-pilot died.

The Piper caught fire after observers saw it roll and crash immediately after take-off. There wasn’t enough of the pilot in command to take a blood alcohol level, but the other occupant’s level was 0. 120 per cent. He died, too.

A stall killed a 21-year-old student pilot and his passenger. The little Cessna 152 in which they were flying was seen to pull up. Abruptly from a cruise at about 200 ft above ground and eventually crashed off the resultant stall, into water.

Alcohol impairment of efficiency and judgment was the verdict. His blood alcohol level was 0. 08 per cent.

The sky was overcast, it was raining and there was a 700-ft ceiling with one mile or less visibility when a Cessna 172M with two souls on board hit the deck in a low pass.

The two occupants were killed. The body in the lefthand seat was that of a non-certificated student. The right seat contained the mortal remains of a 47-year-old PPL with more than 3000 hours flown.

The pilot-in-command had a blood alcohol level of 0.18.

Once again the drink-die combination had proved unbeatable.

Strange indications masked the deaths of two other men – one was a PPL with 160-odd hours in his book. The other was a check pilot, engaged in assessing the ability of the skipper in command to fly and operate a Cessna 337.

The check skipper – or his records after death – took the rap for the double death. His blood alcohol level was 160 mg per cent. Fire after impact made autopsies difficult, said medicos.

And so the list goes on.

The pilot who should have known better (37 years old, on a student ticket and with only 77 total hours) killed himself in a Cessna 150 after coming down completely out of control during aerobatics. Blood alcohol level – 0. 13 per cent.

The 37-year-old pilot injured himself and three passengers on board a PA-28 after he’d landed and taxied straight into another aircraft. Blood alcohol level – 0. 33 per cent.

Admittedly it was lousy weather and the Commercial pilot of the Beech D95 hadn’t slept for 18 hours – but he flew on until his fuel was exhausted then came down out of control. The blood alcohol level taken from the body showed 0. 097.

This sort of thing doesn’t only happen to people while flying, this drink-die method . . . take the case of a bystander who walked erratically into the idling prop of a Beech B90. His blood alcohol level was 0. 235 per cent.

The only common thing about these accidents and loss of lives is that they happen either in the early morning, evening or late at night.

And, of course, that the casualties had been drinking.

Is it all really worth it?

Can it never really happen to you?