GA- Drug use and the private pilot may take lives - Curt Lewis

NTSB Rules Cocaine Played Role in Plane Crash That Killed Father, Teen Daughter

The group was traveling from Chicago to Florida for a spring break getaway

Cocaine was a factor in a small plane crash that killed a suburban Chicago pilot and his daughter and injured another teen in Florida in 2014, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot, Jeffrey Bronken, a 53-year-old man from north suburban Round Lake, was flying with his 15-year-old daughter, Katherine Bronken, and her friend and softball teammate Keyana Linbo. The group was traveling from Chicago to Florida for a spring break getaway in March 2014.

Bronken's toxicology results were positive for cocaine, according to the NTSB, and "impairment from cocaine likely affected his preflight fuel planning abilities and en route fuel management."
The investigation determined the cause of the accident was the pilot's "inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion."

"Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to cocaine use," the report stated.
Investigators said the plane had been flying for four hours and 21 minutes and was about six miles from the airport when the pilot reported a fuel emergency to air traffic control. The pilot said he would attempt to land on a highway, but the plane collided with 160-foot tall power lines and crashed in the median of a six-lane street.