Investigators say the pilot of a Texas hot air balloon that crashed and killed 16 people flew with enough Benadryl in his system to have the equivalent blood-alcohol level of a drunken driver.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators at a hearing in Washington that pilot Alfred "Skip" Nichols also took sedatives and opioids that likely affected his decision-making during the July 2016 flight.
Nichols had at least four convictions for drunken driving and twice spent time in prison.
A Texas lawmaker expects hot air balloon pilots to obtain medical certificates following a crash similar to last year that killed 16 people.
The July 2016 crash in a pasture near Austin, Texas, was the worst hot air balloon disaster in U.S. history.
The National Transportation Safety Board could recommend new safety regulations. Medical experts have said the pilot of the Texas balloon should have been grounded because of medical ailments and drug use.
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