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NTSB: Pilot in 2017 plane crash had drugs in system

Posted at 7:17 AM, Sep 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-14 10:17:18-04

A National Transportation Safety Board report says the pilot of a small plane that went down at a Tucson airport last year had marijuana and other drugs in his system at the time of the fatal crash.

Authorities say 56-year-old pilot Jeffrey Green and 38-year-old passenger Daniel Rodriguez died in the Jan. 23, 2017 crash at Tucson International Airport.
    
Witnesses say the twin-engine Beechcraft 300 pitched rapidly during takeoff with its nose pointing skyward before the plane hit the ground and slid about 650 feet upside down and crashed into a concrete wall.
    
The NTSB report says autopsies showed the victims died from blunt force and thermal injuries.
    
It also says toxicology tests on the pilot found marijuana's THC in his blood system along with amphetamines, antidepressants and seizure/anxiety medication.