Massachusetts flight instructor in deadly crash took medications on “Do Not Fly” list, NTSB

GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Federal investigators looking into a deadly 2024 small plane crash in Franklin County say the instructor who was teaching a student pilot had tested positive for two medicines that are on the FAA's "Do Not Fly" list. Three people were killed when the Beechcraft 95-B55 (Baron) went down in a clearing beside a wooded area near the Leyden-Greenfield line on January 14, 2024. The plane crashed about 20 minutes after taking off from Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport. According to a Medical Factual Report by National Transportation Safety Board Medical Specialist Dr. JE Tuttle, the autopsy on a 67-year-old male instructor found he tested positive for alprazolam (most commonly known by the brand name Xanax) as well as amitriptyline. Alprazolam is a Schedule IV controlled substance used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, while amitriptyline is an antidepressant. The FAA considers both drugs to be "Do Not Issue/Do Not Fly" medications. An autopsy on the student pilot found no prohibited substances in his system. The report does not mention the instructor by name, but his age and gender are consistent with William Hampton of Indian Orchard. The student pilot was identified as Chad Davidson, 29, of Woodstock, Connecticut. The third person killed in the crash was 53-year-old Frederika Ballard, the owner and founder of Fly Lugu flight school in Westfield. A separate NTSB aircraft performance report concluded that the plane had stalled twice before crashing, with the second stall resulting in the aircraft going into a spin from which it did not recover. "Given N7345R’s successful recovery from the first stall, it is not likely that the yawing moment that induced the spin following the second stall resulted from either an asymmetrical thrust condition or an asymmetrical aerodynamic condition associated with ice accumulation. Instead, the required yawing moment might have resulted from an improper stall recovery technique (perhaps involving an excessive or inadvertent rudder input)," states the report, submitted by National Resource Specialist John O'Callaghan.