United States Department of Transportation
i
Benzodiazepine Use in Pilots of Civil Aviation Accidents: 1990-2008 Toxicology and Autopsy Findings
-
2011-02-01
-
[PDF-465.63 KB]
Details:
-
Creators:
-
Corporate Creators:
-
Corporate Contributors:
-
Subject/TRT Terms:
-
Publication/ Report Number:
-
Resource Type:
-
Geographical Coverage:
-
Corporate Publisher:
-
Abstract:Benzodiazepine medications have a long history of abuse. They are categorized as central nervous system depressants, and there are currently 15 different benzodiazepines prescribed in the United States and an additional 20 in other countries. The side effects of these medications include drowsiness, dizziness, decreased alertness, and/or memory loss, which can lead to impairment and a decreased ability to properly control an aircraft. The presence of these medications in postmortem specimens of aviation accident victims can help determine the cause of the accident and, potentially, result in serious legal consequences.
Our laboratory is in a unique position because a medical history is available to investigators for most certified pilots. With this in mind, we compared benzodiazepine compounds found following postmortem analysis with the available medical history for each victim. This evaluation was conducted to determine if these records supported the use of such medications or if the aviators were taking the compounds without the approval of their aviation medical examiners or possibly abusing the substances. In addition, a medical review of the autopsy records was also conducted.
-
Content Notes:This work was accomplished under the approved task AM-B-05-TOX-204
-
Format:
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
