WAILUKU, Hawaii — Disorientation, downdrafts and the effects of an antihistamine are potential contributing factors in a fatal Lanai plane crash last year.
WAILUKU, Hawaii — Disorientation, downdrafts and the effects of an antihistamine are potential contributing factors in a fatal Lanai plane crash last year.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report Wednesday that says pilot Richard Rooney had an antihistamine in his system when he became spatially disoriented while executing a turn at night, the Maui News reported.
The report says the sedating effects of the antihistamine may have contributed to Rooney’s disorientation.
Maui County chartered the plane for a planning department meeting. Rooney, 52-year-old board planning department secretary Tremaine Balderdi and 50-year-old county planner Kathleen Kern died in the Feb. 26, 2014 crash near Lanai airport.
Three other county employees aboard the flight sustained burns.
Kern’s family named Maui Island Air and Rooney’s estate in a negligence lawsuit. The family’s attorney declined to provide comment.
Balberdi’s daughter Malia Balberdi said in an email Thursday that the NTSB findings bring some closure, but don’t make dealing with the effects of the crash any easier.
Rooney’s ex-wife and business partner could not be reached Thursday.
Maui County did not comment on the findings, but said they still grieve for the victims. Two of the three employees injured in the crash have returned to work, while the third is on a leave of absence.