Last weekend while flying my Debonair back to its home base at Santa Monica, I tuned in a Los Angeles AM talk radio station on the ADF. The topic de jour was a 16 year old boy, who on his birthday, got a Porsche 911 from his parents. On the same day that he got his license and the Porsche, he smashed into a tree at a very high speed. He and his passenger received life threatening injuries. The two radio hosts commented on how the young boy got what he deserved. In their minds he was obviously a spoiled rich kid who would have gotten into this type of a mess sooner or later, and much better to get it out of the way now. They spoke about how these types of kids put others at risk, and in this unfortunate case, the passenger suffered too.
   The conversation reminded me of my nephew who never made it to age 16 when he could drive his own car. He was a passenger with six other teenagers crammed into one car. The driver was racing with another car, when she lost control and flipped over an embankment and into an alligator infested Florida canal. Five of the children drowned, my nephew among them. Ironically, the two that survived were the driver and her sister.
   This type of reckless behavior is all too common amongst drivers, young and old alike. We would hope the mentality behind such folly would not transfer to the cockpit of an airplane, but it does. One need only scan the NTSB reports to see how many accidents are caused by intentional acts of outright stupidity.
   Take for instance the crash of a Piper PA-28-200 in Oklahoma. According to the NTSB Factual Report, much of which is repeated verbatim herein, the pilot rented the airplane for an evening flight to Oklahoma City, with a return to Tulsa the following morning. About 1000 on the morning of the accident, the pilot telephoned the operator and stated that the en route weather prevented his return that morning, but he would return in the afternoon. Witnesses stated that at about 1430 the pilot landed the airplane on a dirt road near Granite, Oklahoma. The pilot told one of the witnesses that he had landed due to low engine oil pressure; however, "it was okay now." The witness observed the pilot check the oil quantity, and he observed oil on the dipstick. However, he never saw the pilot add any oil to the engine. The witness helped the pilot turn the airplane around and drove to the end of the dirt road to block traffic, but the airplane did not takeoff. When the witness returned to the airplane, the pilot stated he could not start the engine. The witness observed "the starter was about to fall off with only one bolt was holding it on. He also observed a streak of oil on the bottom of the fuselage, which appeared to originate from a "brass nut" on the bottom of the engine. According to another witness, "the starter had disengaged from the engine due to a loose/broken bracket." This witness "loaned the pilot some wrenches to fix [the] problem." The pilot took the alternator bracket off and left it off. He told the witnesses that there was no problem leaving the bracket off because "he had 24 volts," and the "mechanics were going to get it at the vo-tech." The pilot then told the witnesses he was headed back to Tulsa. The aircraft took off and "headed east." The aircraft then "did a roll, a 360 loop," and then turned south towards Altus. One witness stated that "the motor was making a noise, as if it was getting gas and then not getting gas."
   The airport attendant at Altus Municipal Airport reported that at 1515 the accident aircraft entered a right base for runway 35 at an altitude of 150 to 200 feet AGL. It over shot final and made a "rough fast landing approximately 1,500 feet down the runway." It then exited the runway at taxiway C and taxied to the ramp. The attendant also reported that he signaled the pilot where to park the airplane, and the pilot "fire walled the throttle and locked the brake" as he maneuvered the aircraft to the parking spot. The pilot used a cellular telephone while they walked to the operations building. After completing his telephone call, he asked the attendant to put 5 gallons of fuel in "each side" and 1 quart of oil in the engine. The pilot then left the airport in the courtesy car to get something to eat.
   The airport attendant further reported that he estimates that there was approximately 1 inch of fuel in each tank before he added the fuel. After he added the 5 gallons of fuel to each tank, the level of fuel was well below the "tabs." About 5 minutes after his two passengers, construction workers who work at the Quartz Mountain State Park lodge construction site at Lake Altus, arrived at the airport, the pilot returned. The pilot told the passengers to get in the aircraft while he paid for the fuel and oil. After paying for the fuel and oil, he made the comment to the attendant, "let me see if I can't scare these guys to death." The aircraft jumped its chocks and taxied to the runway for takeoff. After takeoff, the landing gear remained down as the airplane disappeared from the attendant's view.
   At approximately 1600, one witness who was located at the Lake Altus lodge construction site, observed the accident airplane flying from northeast to southwest through the lodge area, very low to the water. The airplane "buzzed" the construction site, and continued southwest, then circled to the east northeast. At approximately 1615-1620 the airplane flew back through the area "inverted" and flew through the mountain gap. The airplane then "banked to the left in a east northeast direction." After the airplane disappeared behind the mountain (approximately 4 seconds), "he heard a thud and no more engine noise."
   Other witnesses located on the east side of Lake Altus, at the boat ramp in area one, observed the accident airplane flying south through the lodge area. The airplane was "tilting at 90 degree angles on its wings." As the airplane "got past the twin peaks it went inverted with the cockpit towards the water and then nosed down and headed straight down and disappeared behind one of the peaks, but in front of another mountain." One of the witnesses "heard the engine cut on and off just before the plane went behind the mountain." This witness had seen the airplane earlier in the day doing "tricks and stunts."
   This pilot was clearly an accident waiting to happen. While a student at the Spartan School of Aeronautics, he video taped acrobatic maneuvers he performed during a solo training flight. He gave the video tape to his flight instructor and told him he thought he would be interested in it. The Spartan School of Aeronautics convened a Board of Inquiry to review this incident, and the pilot was put on academic probation. Later, he was observed performing acrobatic maneuvers in a Cessna 152. The FAA suspended his pilot certificate for 90 days for this incident. The reason given for this suspension was performing acrobatic maneuvers, which is contrary to the operating limitations specified in the approved flight manual for the airplane, and for performing acrobatic flight within 4 nautical miles of the centerline of V-140, a Federal airway.
   An autopsy was performed on the deceased pilot. Toxicology findings were positive for Tetrahydrocannabinol (Marihuana), Hydrocodone, Alprazolam, and Actetaminophen. The Tetrahydrocannabinol (parent Marihuana) detected in blood and Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid (metabolite of Marihuana detected in blood and urine, suggested recent ingestion of Marihuana. As obviously stated by the coroner,"This would have had a detrimental effect on the individual." According to Dr. Salazar, FAA Southwest Regional Flight Surgeon, "0.071 ug/ml Dihydroccodeine (metabolite of Hydrococone, a narcotic analgesic), 0.155 ug/ml Hydrocodone (parent), and 0.338 ug/ml Hydromorphone (metabolite of Hydrocodone) were detected in urine; however, none of these drugs were detected in blood. This suggests usage, but it would be difficult to ascertain what effect these may have had on the pilot." The level of 0.052 ug/ml Alprazolam (antidepressant) detected in blood was "twice the therapeutic level." Alprazolam and Alpha?hydroxyalprozolam (metabolite of Alprazolam) were detected in urine. "This medication would have had a definite effect on the individual's cognitive ability," and the FAA does not recommend the use of these drugs while flying. "The combined effects of these drugs would have caused impairment in the cockpit."
   I shall never forget the first time I saw the effects of a plane crash on the human body. Along with other law clerks, I looked at the NTSB photos taken of the bodies before they were removed from the wreckage. Needless to say, it is not a pretty picture. Not long before becoming lumps of disassembled flesh and organs, these men had been drinking at a bar near Van Nuys Airport. After tossing down a few, the VFR only pilot decided he could make it to Las Vegas, despite one of the worst weather days of the year. He, his passengers, and the Twin Bonanza in which they were seated, smashed into the side of a mountain above Burbank, thus causing a mess for someone else to clean up.
   Did all of these people deserve their "just desserts"? Well, perhaps not the passengers, but definitely the pilots. Neither a car nor an airplane is something to be dealt with lightly. This article is just a reminder that human beings are fallible, and make mistakes. Although we may think the ultimate penalty can never happen to us, it does. As a pilot-in-command, there is no substitute for good, sound, and sane judgment, lest we too end up deserving our own just dessert.