A mistake made by a hot air balloon pilot who had drugs including cocaine in his system caused a crash in 2021 in New Mexico that killed all five people on board, investigators have determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report released this week that pilot Nicholas Meleski did not maintain enough clearance from power lines while trying to land. He hit the power lines and crashed into a busy intersection. The report said investigators found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures.
We’d have to have more information. If a drug is “in your system” that’s not quite the same as being high on the drug.
Cocaine stays in your system like three days I believe. He could have done cocaine three days before no longer been high.
Marijuana stays in your system up to 90 days. He could have smoked a joint 3 months before the incident and still had marijuana “in his system”.
This is a tragic incident, I’m just pointing this out. I don’t know what state of mind the pilot was in but there is a big difference between having a drug in your system and being high on said drug.
We need to stop the war on drugs. Drugs are not bad.