Pilot Incapacitation Could Have Had Several Causes

Pilot incapacitation has been identified as the probable cause of Customs and Border Protection helicopter east of San Diego in late 2024. The NTSB said in its final report any number of things or a combination of them could have contributed to the 53-year-old pilot losing control of the Airbus AS350 B3 before it crashed near the town of Portero, about 50 miles east of San Diego. He could have had a heart attack, a stroke, nodded off from the drugs in his system or something else. “However, available evidence was insufficient to determine whether the pilot experienced a cardiovascular event, fell asleep, or became incapacitated for another reason,” was how the NTSB put it.

The pilot had been sick for a few days and on his first day back was sent to do a routine air support mission when the aircraft suddenly plummeted to the ground about 1.5 hours into the flight. The subsequent medical analysis found “severe multi-vessel coronary artery disease and evidence of prior heart muscle damage.” The pilot also had diphenhydramine and doxylamine, both sedating antihistamines, in his system after suffering from a cold. The analysis couldn’t determine when he’s last taken the drug. Diphenhydramine is the active ingredient in Benadryl and doxylamine is what’s in Nyquil and the regs say pilots have to wait 60 hours after their last dose before they can fly after taking either. Among their side effects are drowsiness, slowed reaction times, impaired judgment, and reduced situational awareness and both are used as a treatment for insomnia. Here’s the full report.

WPR25FA062 – InvestigationDownload

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