NTSB Report Says Roy Halladay Was Doing Stunts And Had Drugs In His System When His Plane Crashed
CLEARWATER, Fl. (CBS4) - A new NTSB report just released says that former Major League Baseball and Arvada West High School pitcher Roy Halladay was doing high-level stunts near the surface of the water at the time of his deadly plane crash in November 2017. The report also states he had drugs in his system.
Halladay was flying his Icon A5 aircraft along the beachfront near Clearwater, Florida on November 7, 2017. Logs show he took off from a small airport in Odessa, Florida at 11:47 a.m. The crash was recorded 16 minutes later. A previous report said that Halladay's plane reached speeds of 105 miles per hour and altitudes of just 11 feet above the water's surface before he started high-risk maneuvers.
Several witnesses say they saw Halladay's plane flying near houses and at altitudes of just 300 feet just before the crash. One fisherman who saw the plane said he saw Halladay start a steep climb, then immediately start a steep, nose-first descent before hitting the water at a 45-degree angle. The report says the plane hit water just four feet deep at a speed of roughly 90 miles per hour.
Nothing in the report stated that Halladay had the necessary low-altitude flight training.
Toxicology reports said that Halladay had a sleep aid similar to Ambien in his system at the time of the crash. Amphetamines were also present at roughly ten times the safe level. Morphine, muscle relaxants, anti-depressants, and other opioids were also found in Halladay's system.
About a week before the fatal crash, Halladay posted his flight under the Skyway Bridge in Tampa on social media, and said "flying the Icon A5 over the water is like flying a fighter jet!"
Halladay graduated from Arvada West High School in 1995. After being named the starter for the American League all-star team in 2009 the Denver Post called him "the greatest starting pitcher the state of Colorado has produced." Halladay's photos and awards hang proudly in the halls of Arvada West, where he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays after graduation.
Halladay was one of the best (and highest paid) pitchers in the major leagues during his relatively short career (he announced his retirement in 2013). After the 2009 season the Blue Jays traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies and in 2010 alone he pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins, recorded 21 wins, and pitched a no-hitter on Oct. 6, 2010, in the first round of the playoffs.
He was within one out of a no-hitter on Sept. 27, 1998, in just his second major league start, pitching for Toronto against Detroit. He was elected posthumously to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019 with 84% of the required 75% vote.
