The man who piloted a small plane that crashed near Fresno last year, killing himself and two others, had a significant amount of marijuana in his system at the time, according to a coroner's report.
Karl Esposti, 50, of Windsor, was flying his Cessna T-210L Centurion above the farming town of Tranquillity on April 7 when the plane encountered bad weather and crashed in a wheat field, authorities said.
Esposti, a well-known local car dealer, was killed, along with wine executive Tom Hobart, 58, of Healdsburg, and vineyard owner Kieran "K.C." Burke, 49, of Geyserville. The three departed from Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport and were on their way to Scottsdale, Ariz., for a golf weekend.
The National Transportation Safety Board's final crash report is awaiting approval by its five-member board, which will issue a probable cause.
Toxicology reports show Esposti had 293 nanograms per milliliter of marijuana metabolites in his urine. Pilots who are detected with more than 15 nanograms risk having their license revoked or suspended, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
It is unclear exactly when he took the drug and whether he was impaired at the time of the crash because marijuana can stay in the body for long periods of time.
However, one expert said the amount of marijuana found in Esposti's body suggests either that he was a chronic user or had smoked it within hours of the fatal flight.
"How do you attain that number in the urine? It's only through active smoking on a daily basis," said Dr. Ernest D. Lykissa, a forensic toxicologist with Houston-based ExperTox Inc.
The paramedics should have administered marijuana to the crash victims to cure them of their injuries.
"Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side"
And how do you know that the weather didn't cause the plane crash and the fact that the pilot has smoked marijuana in the past few days had nothing to do with the crash?
Planes crash all the time due to bad weather.
The plane encounteres turbulence, breaks apart in mid-air, and you attribute the accident to marijuana?
Hey Dumbo.
Why didn't you HIGHlight THIS sentence?
"It is unclear exactly when he took the drug and whether he was impaired at the time of the crash because marijuana can stay in the body for long periods of time."
Perhaps because it cast doubt on the inaccurate point you were trying to make?
You're sure fast and loose with the truth for a sober guy.