Ex Baseball Player Had 3 Drugs In System When He Crashed Plane

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Ex baseball player Roy Halladay had at least three drugs in his system when he crashed his plane. They included a sleeping pill, amphetamines and ADD medication. His Ambien levels were above FAA recommendations for flying at.72 which is .20 above the their limit for flying. Also found was some alcohol and morphine in system which was most likely from prescribed medication.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/01/20/roy-halladay-plane-crash/1050708001/

Early reports also had him 'showing off' in his 'new' plane as well.
 

A lot of athletes, both present and past, use pain killers to help with pains from injuries or arthritis from their playing days, so some morphine is no surprise. We see the same thing on the highways, whether the driver is or was involved in an accident or not. There’s nothing like chasing a drug fueled driver doing 100 mph on the Turnpike.

I would hope that Mr. Halliday’s toxicology report did not show that he was in excess of morphine. Who in their right mind would go flying while juiced up?
 
Yes, case in point, Tiger Woods. Think he's out of the woods now....no pun intended:)
 

911 said:
A lot of athletes, both present and past, use pain killers to help with pains from injuries or arthritis from their playing days, so some morphine is no surprise. We see the same thing on the highways, whether the driver is or was involved in an accident or not. There’s nothing like chasing a drug fueled driver doing 100 mph on the Turnpike.

I would hope that Mr. Halliday’s toxicology report did not show that he was in excess of morphine. Who in their right mind would go flying while juiced up?
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They're obviously not in their right mind but pilots lose their licenses every year for impaired flying. We have to hope when they wreck those babies they don't land on anyone or anything we care about.

I keep looking at your siggy and remembering all the good things that have happened to me after 2:00 a.m.
 
Back when I was still working, I never took so much as a cold pill the night before a flight. We never knew when we would report to work and one of the spot checks were being done. Someone (a nurse usually) would walk up behind a member of a flight crew, no matter if you were a pilot or a flight attendant and tap you on the shoulder. When you turn around, the nurse is handing you a bottle and leading you to the bathroom. Any type of drug, even an antihistamine, would ground you. And, IMO, it was a good idea, although some did not like it. No sleeping aids, no cold pills, no steroids, basically the only medicine that I would take less than 12 hours before my flight was a statin drug and Tylenol, Advil or Aleve.

If you got caught with any kind of substance that was considered to be hazardous to fly while the drug was still active in your body and the FAA would have a hissy fit, along with my employer. And, yes, we would hear about one crew member getting time off because they forgot the rule.
 
I can't believe there weren't warning labels on his medications like don't operate heavy machinery.

One thing that stood out was that they say he also had amphetamines in his system most likely from attention deficit disorder drug. Athletes have been using add drugs like adderall and ridalin as a performance enhancer. Many sports organizations ban it's use unless the athlete has an actual prescription which are probably contrived anyway.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/01/20/roy-halladay-plane-crash/1050708001/

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ayers-gaining-exemptions-add-article-1.470970

Now many of his on field accomplishments come into question. Was he a cheater.
 
Smiling Jane said:
That's astounding hypocrisy on Halladay's part. None of them comes out looking good, but he sure was quick to call people names.
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Yep, Halladay is the one who not only risked his health but other's safety. It's amazing he didn't hit more players when pitching. The pitcher is already throwing a lethal weapon in a player's direction.

I wonder how many players in any sport actually have a prescription for 'conditions' treated with stimulant/amphetamine filled medications. I heard Olympic athletes like to say they have asthma which uses meds to expand their lungs and/or capacity. I think these sports became too focused on steroids and illegal street drugs like cocaine.
 
He was using a very nasty combination of drugs. Overdose quantities of amphetamines along with alcohol, morphine, something for sleep (Ambien?), and ADD meds. He probably didn't know whether he was coming or going most of the time. He was up, down and everywhere around the town.

Either he was doctor-shopping or someone is going to be answering questions about prescribing.
 
Smiling Jane said:
He was using a very nasty combination of drugs. Overdose quantities of amphetamines along with alcohol, morphine, something for sleep (Ambien?), and ADD meds. He probably didn't know whether he was coming or going most of the time. He was up, down and everywhere around the town.

Either he was doctor-shopping or someone is going to be answering questions about prescribing.
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That's what I was thinking unless his baseball connections got him this stuff. And don't pilots have to take a full physical before getting their license and/or are open to drug testing on demand? How much can the FAA control private small plane/recreational pilots?
 
Smiling Jane said:
According to this, it sounds like there's not much in the way of drug/alcohol testing for pilots who fly small planes. Commercial aircraft is a whole other ball game.

I lived in Aspen when John Denver was too drunk to walk most of the time but he was flying planes. We wondered how that happened but maybe this is the answer.

https://www.leftseat.com/ame/health4pilots/default.htm
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Interesting. I've heard about fooling the drug test and counter measures before. I've known non pilots when applying for a job had to redo a urine test 'mentioning' dilution. According to those statistics amphetamines weren't a large factor but cannabinoids were. I can't see those numbers doing nothing but have gone up.
 
If you are a commercial airline pilot and hold an ALP license and are caught with any illegal substances in your urine or blood through a spot check, you are done as a pilot flying for an airline and, yes, I have known a few to have hit the bricks.
 
oldman said:
I'm not sure that I understand. What "secret group" are you referring to? Just curious.
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I'm talking about a very hush-hush AA group made up of active airline pilots; the guys I knew were retired pilots so they weren't as concerned. There are some very private invitation-only AA groups (e.g. surgeons) whose members don't want their participation to be known.
 

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