Pilot’s medical issues eyed

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The pilot of the container ship that spilled 53,000 gallons of fuel oil into the San Francisco Bay was convicted of a DUI and took prescription drugs that could have affected his judgment and ability to react, federal investigators said yesterday.

Capt. John Cota was apparently diagnosed with alcoholism and developed pancreatitis as a result of his drinking, according to testimony at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing.

One NTSB investigator questioned why a local pilots board hadn’t noticed a worsening pattern after a 2004 incident in which Mr. Cota was enraged and irrational on board a ship, and another in 2006 in which a vessel he was piloting ran aground.

A medical witness said that Mr. Cota should not have been granted a pilot license by the Coast Guard after a physical last year, which revealed a long list of medical conditions including sleep apnea, which can cause problems sleeping and drowsiness during the day.

Mr. Cota is facing federal civil charges and declined to testify at the hearing. He was taking anti-anxiety and depression pills, and medications for pain, migraines, glaucoma and to combat his sleep apnea, among other prescriptions.

“I wouldn’t want anyone taking those medicines and having to make decisions in a safety-sensitive position,” Dr. Robert Bourgeois told an NTSB panel during the second day of a two-day hearing on the Nov. 7 accident.

Dr. Bourgeois, who performs physicals for the Federal Aviation Administration and also examines mariners, said Mr. Cota shouldn’t have been given a pilot’s license.

Mr. Cota’s lawyer disputed the assessment but declined to say what medications Mr. Cota was on that morning. Attorney Jeff Bornstein noted that Mr. Cota passed a drug and alcohol test after the accident, though such a test isn’t meant to detect most legally prescribed drugs.

With Mr. Cota piloting, the 900-foot Cosco Busan sideswiped a support of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in heavy morning fog, gashing the ship’s side and fuel tank. The spill fouled the fragile Bay, killing or injuring thousands of birds and closing beaches.

Documents released by the NTSB at the first day of the hearing Tuesday showed that the medications Mr. Cota took prompted the Coast Guard to ask him to voluntarily turn in his mariner’s license in the weeks after the accident because of concerns about his judgment.

NTSB investigator Dr. Barry Strauch revealed yesterday that Mr. Cota was convicted of driving under the influence in February 1999, apparently was diagnosed with alcoholism and entered an alcohol rehabilitation program. A waiver was granted so he could retain his pilot’s license, Dr. Strauch said.

One of the medications Mr. Cota took was Lorazepam, an anti-anxiety medication which Dr. Bourgeois said the FAA doesn’t let its pilots use. The pills have a half-life of 11 or 12 hours and “that’s not something you’d want to have onboard when you’re trying to do important duties,” the doctor said. Dr. Bourgeois said the medications could have interacted with each other to exacerbate side-effects.