A recently released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report maintains the prevalence of prescription, over-the-counter, and illicit drugs found in fatally injured pilots has increased since its last focus in 2014.
The Safety Research Report: 2013 – 2017 Update to Drug Use Trends in Aviation examined toxicology results from pilots killed in plane crashes between 1990 and 2012. As a means of updating the study, investigators examined toxicology results from pilots who died in plane crashes between 2013 and 2017.
The findings determined of 952 pilots fatally injured between 2013 and 2017 with available toxicology tests results, 28 percent tested positive for at least one potentially impairing drug, which authorities said represented a rise above the 23 percent figure in the 2014 study. Additionally, investigators indicated 15 percent were positive for at least one drug connected to a potentially impairing condition – an increase of 3 percentage points from the 2014 study.
“The plain language information on potentially impairing over-the-counter drugs that the FAA has made available to pilots can be an extremely valuable safety resource,” NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt said. “Now, all pilots can quickly and easily find information on potentially impairing drugs and even find possible alternatives that are safe to use while flying.”
Researchers also revealed an increase in the percentage of fatally injured pilots testing positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in marijuana, with the NTSB concluding evidence of that drug use presents a safety hazard ineffectively addressed and called for the FAA to inform pilots marijuana use by airmen is prohibited.