As both a land and seaplane instructor most of my life, I take every aircraft accident personally, whether I knew the pilot or not. The death last November of Roy Halladay, former MLB star pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and later the Philadelphia Phillies and a multiple Cy Young award winner, seemed even more needless than many because of the low-altitude maneuvers he was performing just before the crash. How many times, I thought, have I cautioned students against such stunts close to the ground or the water? What was he thinking, I wondered?
Roy Halladay Autopsy Findings Catch Industry by Surprise
Key Takeaways:
- Former MLB star Roy Halladay died in a low-altitude crash of his Icon A5 seaplane, following a series of risky maneuvers.
- The autopsy revealed a dangerous cocktail of mood-altering and contradictory drugs in his system, including zolpidem, amphetamine, morphine, and fluoxetine, indicating he was severely impaired while flying.
- Drowning was identified as a contributing cause of death, suggesting Halladay was alive after impact, raising questions about onlookers who filmed the crash instead of providing immediate assistance.
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