Roy Halladay's Icon A5 down off of Tampa Coast

Just checked and he’s still in the airmen registry. 1st class medical in May 2017. Is it likely he would have been issued while on those drugs?
 
James331 said:
...but it wasn't some drug that made him fly low and fast, ...
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No, but the drugs may very well have impaired him so that he couldn’t fly low and fast safely and also impaired his judgment so that he was unaware how impaired he was.

Flying within 75 feet of houses certainly shows poor judgment.

All speculation, of course.
 
Half Fast said:
No, but the drugs may very well have impaired him so that he couldn’t fly low and fast safely and also impaired his judgment so that he was unaware how impaired he was.

Flying within 75 feet of houses certainly shows poor judgment.

All speculation, of course.
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How does a low time float pilot fly low and fast safely?
 
My wife saw me reading the autopsy report. After I told her how he died, her comment was: 'looks like he committed suicide.'
 
FastEddieB said:
Figuratively, maybe.

I personally doubt he meant to die that day.

But without a note or equivalent, I guess we’ll never know for sure.
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Between the Prozac for depression, the sleeping pills in the middle of the day and a sublethal dose of opiates, that tox result wouldn't be too far off for someone who hit the ER for a suicide attempt.
The final event of his flight was a 45 deg downslope from 600ft. I don't think an intentional act can be exxcluded.
 
I heard someone say he died doing what he loved.



I just didn’t know that meant he loved being high on drugs.
 
Half Fast said:
Saw another report that also listed Prozac in his system.

Wow.

Sometimes I find it amazing just how messed up so many outwardly successful people can be. Makes me glad I’m a failure.
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No drugs or alcohol for me. Not even caffeine. I must be a successful failure..!!! :lol::lol::lol:

It amazes me to watch pilots that HAVE to use coffee as a stimulant before flying, or pretty much before anything.
 
Makes me wonder what sort of chemical augmentation he was using on the baseball field, too.
 
Half Fast said:
Makes me wonder what sort of chemical augmentation he was using on the baseball field, too.
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Amphetamine abuse used to be commonplace in baseball players. They can aid in cutting reaction times. It was not until the mid 2000s that MLB even started a half hearted anti doping program.
They also wash out quickly, so unless testing is random and includes post game samples it may not be detected.
 
weilke said:
Amphetamine abuse used to be commonplace in baseball players. They can aid in cutting reaction times. It was not until the mid 2000s that MLB even started a half hearted anti doping program.
They also wash out quickly, so unless testing is random and includes post game samples it may not be detected.
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Yeah, but they kick your ass out in a heartbeat for gambling! :eek:

It's all about the almighty dollar, in the end.
 
Two and a half years after the crash and no report? The final report concerning the Icon that crashed on May 8 2017 was published Aug 7 2017, three months later. This has taken 10 times as long so far, apparently for a much simpler crash, no canyon turn to consider.

There is no docket visible on the NTSB site, I guess that may be due to the high profile of the deceased.

Anyone any suggestions as to the reason for the extreme delay? Have any other light aircraft investigations taken so long?

Undated Preliminary Report
https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/R...D=20171107X60614&AKey=1&RType=Prelim&IType=FA
 
Looks like the NTSB working from home allows them to close out plenty of pending investigations.
 
weilke said:
Looks like the NTSB working from home allows them to close out plenty of pending investigations.
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Plus, the present decline in flying is no doubt reducing the number of new investigations to distract them.
 
I've got some homebuilt accidents going back to 2014 without a probable cause.

WPR14LA338 8/10/2014 Vans RV-3M
WPR14LA348 8/16/2014 Starduster SA-300
ERA15LA051 11/13/2014 Kitfox 6
CEN15LA351 7/19/2015 Vans RV-9A
ERA16LA016 10/15/2015 Titan Tornado

Ron Wanttaja
 
Wow.. I forgot about Icon until this popped up. They're still kicking though! They just put up a new YouTube video 4 days ago..

Doesn't seem like much has changed there looking at their site
 
I'm sure the final report won't be too surprising if you read this entire thread. When Superstars die their accident gets a lot more scrutiny as a lot of people will be reading the report for different reasons. When you or I die in a crash nobody will really notice outside close friends, family and POA'ers. The upside is that our stupid mistakes will be known to only a few.
 
Spring Ford said:
Anyone any suggestions as to the reason for the extreme delay?
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During the factual phase it could be an A-Z list of reasons. Add in it crashed in open saltwater and that usually compounds things. Have seen some investigation take several years to get through the factual side and post the docket from things like uncooperative witnesses/survivors, lab delays/schedules, investigative priority, in addition to the depth of the investigation. In instances where there are more unknowns than knows, standard procedure is to work from the outside in by first confirming/verifying what did not cause the accident which can be rather time consuming in the big picture.
 
wanttaja said:
I've got some homebuilt accidents going back to 2014 without a probable cause.

WPR14LA338 8/10/2014 Vans RV-3M
WPR14LA348 8/16/2014 Starduster SA-300
ERA15LA051 11/13/2014 Kitfox 6
CEN15LA351 7/19/2015 Vans RV-9A
ERA16LA016 10/15/2015 Titan Tornado

Ron Wanttaja
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I would likely value your probable cause over the NTSBs, in any case.
 
wanttaja said:
I've got some homebuilt accidents going back to 2014 without a probable cause.
Ron Wanttaja
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I don't have any knowledge of any of those however there is often a scarcity of information and I guess a lack of will to spend public money. In this case there is likely a lot of information and perhaps less resistance to spending some money on a thorough investigation. I find the delay puzzling.

In the second Icon case there is at least a scrap of video, eye witnesses, and I believe (I can't recall the source exactly) that all of these aircraft have an FDR. The NTSB has a lot of material in the docket that did not make it to the final report regarding the earlier crash. Usual sort of FDR parameters +GPS position recorded at 10Hz.

Data from earlier crash below.

Electronic devices report
https://dms.ntsb.gov/public/60000-60499/60163/606411.pdf

Docket
https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms/search/...a10038a22-D9ED0393-AA04-4AEC-A508470F0D6DA3A0

Final Report
https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/R...ID=20170508X45426&AKey=1&RType=Final&IType=FA

A couple of extracts from the Electronic devices report.
upload_2020-4-16_1-53-55.png

upload_2020-4-16_1-54-57.png
 
Just posted on ESPN about 6pm:

NTSB: Roy Halladay was doing stunts when plane crashed, had amphetamines in system

Baseball Hall of Famer Roy Halladay was doing extreme acrobatics and had high levels of amphetamines in his system when he lost control of his small plane and nosedived into the Gulf of Mexico in 2017, killing him, a National Transportation Safety Board report issued Wednesday said.

Halladay had amphetamine levels about 10 times therapeutic levels in his blood along with a high level of morphine and an antidepressant that can impair judgment as he performed high-pitch climbs and steep turns, sometimes within 5 feet of the water, the report says about the Nov. 7, 2017, crash.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...-stunts-plane-crashed-had-amphetamines-system
 
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Interesting note from the story. Halladay had a "history of substance abuse with inpatient rehab treatment in 2013" and he also received his pilot's license in 2013.
 
So with all the difficulty I see posted around here regarding getting a medical with a 20 year old dui, how does a guy just out of drug rehab get one? Money?

That said, I don't think the drugs killed him so much as the combination of a lifetime of wild success, hazardous attitudes, and marketing suggesting low altitude shenanigans were a good idea.
 
BrianNC said:
Interesting note from the story. Halladay had a "history of substance abuse with inpatient rehab treatment in 2013" and he also received his pilot's license in 2013.
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I'm thinking someone fibbed on their medical application.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I heard someone say he died doing what he loved.
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I always thought that was one of the dumbest things people say. I enjoy flying. I probably wouldn't enjoy smashing into the water, breaking bones, drowning, leaving my family behind, etc... If I die in a plane crash, as much as I love to fly, please don't use this stupid line at my funeral!
 
BrianNC said:
Interesting note from the story. Halladay had a "history of substance abuse with inpatient rehab treatment in 2013" and he also received his pilot's license in 2013.
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How did he get a medical?
 
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