View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2020/04/14/564747.htm
An investigation into a 2018 plane crash that killed all six people aboard found that one of two pilots aboard the aircraft had drugs in his system and that the plane exceeded its weight limit according to a federal report.
The single-engine plane banked while still at low altitude and crashed in a fireball on a golf course 70 seconds after taking off from Scottsdale Airport in metro Phoenix to fly to the North Las Vegas Airport the evening of April 9, 2018.
A National Transportation Safety Board factual report posted on the agency’s website said an autopsy found ecstasy and inactive cocaine metabolites in urine and blood samples from a student pilot, who was not identified in the report.
No drugs were found in the other pilot, who was described as an experienced pilot and flight instructor who had flown the plane to Scottsdale from North Las Vegas to pick up the student pilot and four passengers.
The report said the plane’s weight limit was 3,200 pounds and that its estimated weight at takeoff was 3,335 pounds.
NTSB factual reports summarize finding but don’t state conclusions on crash causes that are provided in a subsequent final report.