Half of Pilots Killed in US Accidents Tested Positive for Drugs

More than half of pilots killed in U.S. civil aviation accidents between 2018 and 2022 tested positive for at least one drug, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a report published Thursday.

Of the 984 pilots who died in crashes and other fatal events, tests in about 29% of cases detected “potentially impairing drugs” that could diminish a pilot’s performance, the report said.

The percentage for potentially impairing drugs—a category that includes illicit substances and sedating antihistamines often used in allergy and nighttime cold-and-flu products—was the highest since the board began collecting the data in 1990.

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Less debilitating drugs, such as medications to treat cardiovascular issues, high cholesterol and erectile dysfunction, were also among the substances most commonly found, the NTSB said.

The agency stressed that “the presence of drugs identified through toxicology testing does not necessarily indicate pilot impairment” but said it continues to study this issue to understand factors that may affect aviation safety.

The results show a continuing upward trend in drug detection, the NTSB said. One of the biggest increases was in the illicit drugs category, which rose to 7.4% of cases, driven by more pilots testing positive for the primary psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.

Top photo: Pilots walking through an airport. Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images. Bloomberg.