By Bob Walsh
Regular news consumers will remember a tragic hot air balloon crash that killed all 16 on board in Texas this past July 30th. Turns out that the pilot was heavily medicated at the time of the crash and had some major psych issues as well.
The NTSB reports that the pilot, Alfred Nichols, had Valium, OxyContin and Ritalin in his system, all of which whose use would prevent him from getting a pilot's license medical certificate. There was also a muscle relaxant and Benadryl present, both of which are no-nos for pilots to take. He was also taking some pretty heavy anti-depressants. It should be noted that hot air balloon pilots are not legally required to have a pilots medical certificate. (I wonder if that will change?)
I suppose they are still prohibited from piloting their balloon while they are stoned out of their mind, but I confess to being unsure of that.
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