NTSB says pilot in deadly Mount Si crash was drunk
Mar 5, 2013, 2:07 PM | Updated: Mar 6, 2013, 7:13 am
The National Transportation Safety Board says a pilot who crashed his single-engine plane into Mount Si last year, killing himself and two passengers, was drunk at the time.
An NTSB report published last month says pilot Rob Hill, 30, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15, nearly four times the legal limit for a pilot, The Seattle Times reports.
Hill was an experienced commercial pilot and flight instructor at AcuWings in Renton at the time of the crash. Company officials say he took one of their planes without permission on Feb. 15, 2012 after attending a local hockey game and going out to dinner with friends Seth Dawson, 31, and Liz Redling, 29, the report says.
A witness reported seeing Hill’s plane flying about 1,000 feet above the ground, with visibility at least three miles with a high overcast cloud ceiling and some lower elevation clouds. The investigation determined Hill flew directly into the side of the mountain, shearing off tree tops before crashing.
The report says there were no signs of any mechanical problems with the four-seat plane.
“This was not an accident. It was a crime,” Casey Malone, a friend of Redling’s, told the Times. “Losing a friend like this is difficult.”
Related photo gallery: Mount Si plane crash
