And Not Just A Few Drugs...

While the ultimate cause of this tragic accident has yet to be published, the pilot of a Cessna 172 had the decks stacked against him, no matter how you look at it, according to a Factual Report filed by the NTSB.

The basics are simple, "On August 7, 2008, approximately 2130 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N15963, impacted mountainous terrain during descent near Incline Village, Nevada. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was killed. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, Advantage Aviation, Inc., Palo Alto, California. Night visual meteorological conditions (VFR) prevailed at the accident site, and a flight plan was not filed. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal cross-country flight departed from Palo Alto about 2010, and the intended destination was Reno, Nevada."

Information provided by FAA ATC personnel indicates that the airplane departed from Palo Alto Airport and proceeded northeast on a direct course towards Reno, climbing to and leveling out at an altitude of about 11,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane began descending about 2107, and radar contact was lost shortly thereafter when the airplane was about 35 nautical miles southwest of Reno. The last radar data indicated the airplane was descending from 11,200 feet msl on a 045-degree heading. The pilot received VFR flight following services from Northern California approach control and Oakland center. The last radio contact with the pilot was approximately 2115, at which time the pilot was advised to contact Reno approach control for further flight following. The pilot did not check in with Reno approach control.

About 0300 on August 8, 2008, local authorities in Nevada County, California, were notified that an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was being picked up from a location north of Lake Tahoe near the California - Nevada border. A search was initiated, and the wreckage of the airplane was located by a search airplane about 0700 in Washoe County, Nevada, about 2 miles north of Incline Village, in the Mount Rose Wilderness Area at an elevation of approximately 8,600 feet msl.

The report further denotes that a 'review of the pilot's flight logbook revealed that his total flight time was approximately 97 hours, of which 78 hours were dual instruction and 19 hours were solo. All but 0.5 hours of the pilot's time was in Cessna 172 airplanes. He had received a total of 1.8 hours dual instruction at night, which took place during a single flight on August 6, 2008, the night before the accident. None of the pilot's solo flight time was at night. The pilot had made solo cross-country flights to airports less than 50 nautical miles from Palo Alto. No entries were found in the logbook indicating any flights to Reno.

According to the pilot's flight instructor, the pilot had flown about 10 hours in Garmin G1000 equipped Cessna 172s. Of the 10 hours, about 6 hours were dual instruction and 4 hours were solo flight. The pilot had been taught how to select a destination and fly direct to it using the G1000. The G1000 in the accident airplane did not have a terrain avoidance feature.

The flight instructor reported that the pilot was at the point in his training where he was going to start instructing the pilot in cross-country planning. He had not endorsed the pilot's logbook or student certificate for cross-country flight. According to the operator, the student pilot was not given authorization to conduct the 160-nautical-mile flight.'

Where it all gets particularly murky is this... if you read the above facts, you have to note that the pilot, Doyle John Borchers, a Stanford University Neurosurgeon, was no more than a student pilot. His only night-time instruction literally occurred the night before the accident, itself. His instructor had not signed him off for the flight and the flight violated a number of FARs, as a result.

The story becomes particularly alarming when you factor in the post-mortem pharmacological report which states that, "The cause of death was reported as multiple injuries due to blunt force trauma. Toxicology tests were conducted by the FAA's Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory. The tests were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol. The following drugs were detected:

 0.02 (ug/ml, ug/g) BENZOYLECGONINE detected in Blood
 0.891 (ug/ml, ug/g) BENZOYLECGONINE detected in Urine
 0.004 (ug/mL, ug/g) BUPRENORPHINE detected in Blood
 0.131 (ug/mL, ug/g) BUPRENORPHINE detected in Liver
 ECGONINE METHYL ESTER detected in Urine
 ECGONINE METHYL ESTER NOT detected in Blood
 0.013 (ug/mL, ug/g) FLUOXETINE detected in Blood
 0.266 (ug/mL, ug/g) FLUOXETINE detected in Liver
 LAMOTRIGINE detected in Blood
 LAMOTRIGINE detected in Liver
 0.005 (ug/mL, ug/g) NORBUPRENORPHINE detected in Blood
 0.075 (ug/mL, ug/g) NORBUPRENORPHINE detected in Liver
 0.182 (ug/mL, ug/g) NORFLUOXETINE detected in Blood
 3.021 (ug/mL, ug/g) NORFLUOXETINE detected in Liver
 OXYMETAZOLINE detected in Liver
 0.019 (ug/mL, ug/g) QUETIAPINE detected in Blood
 QUETIAPINE detected in Liver

While the pilot did admit to any specific drug use in his medical certificate questionnaire, the NTSB also revealed that "The Executive Director of the Medical Board of California filed an Accusation against the pilot, a physician, on April 22, 2008. The Accusation documented a history of substance dependence and abuse for more than 10 years preceding the accident, involving the misuse of at least 4 different substances (including alcohol) and treatment through at least 6 different programs for substance-related disorders during that period. The pilot's spouse stated he was being treated for 'addiction' and 'anxiety and depression' at the time of the accident."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov