A federal investigation into a deadly helicopter crash in rural San Diego County has reached an unsettling conclusion: the pilot simply lost control after becoming incapacitated, and nearly two years later, nobody can say exactly why. The 53-year-old Customs and Border Protection pilot was the only person aboard the Airbus AS350 B3 when it fell from the sky near Potrero on December 16, 2024, and the National Transportation Safety Board's final report offers more medical mystery than clear answers.
According to the NTSB's final report, published September 23, the pilot lost control during cruise flight after becoming incapacitated for reasons that could not be determined. The helicopter had departed Brown Field Municipal Airport in San Diego at about 8:56 a.m. that day on what was described as a routine air-support mission. For roughly 90 minutes, everything appeared normal, with the aircraft flying at relatively stable altitudes on a generally consistent track, per the same report.
Then, without warning, the flight path turned violent. The helicopter entered two S-turns while descending from 4,200 feet to 3,100 feet mean sea level in just 49 seconds, with descent rates exceeding 12,000 feet per minute before it struck the ground near Potrero, a small community in far-east San Diego County. The crash was first reported by local outlets, including the San Diego Union-Tribune, which identified the pilot at the time only as an air interdiction agent with CBP's air and marine operations component.
No Mechanical Failure, No Clear Trigger
Investigators ruled out the most obvious explanations fairly quickly. The NTSB report found no mechanical malfunction, no evidence of contact with another object, and no sign of an intentional recovery maneuver, according to the investigation's findings. In other words, whatever happened in that cockpit wasn't caused by equipment failure or a collision, and the pilot apparently never tried to pull out of the descent.
That left investigators focused squarely on the pilot's physical condition. The NBC News coverage of the crash in its immediate aftermath identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter AS350 B3 operated by a company called Granite Coast Mapping, underscoring how ordinary the flight appeared until its final minute.
Toxicology, Heart Disease, and an Unanswered Question
FAA toxicology testing detected diphenhydramine and doxylamine in the pilot's system, both common over-the-counter antihistamines found in products like Benadryl and Unisom. But investigators could not establish when the drugs had been taken, leaving open whether they played any role in the crash at all. The pilot also had taken sick leave on four of his six scheduled workdays in the two weeks before the crash, a detail noted in the NTSB's examination of his recent health.
Separately, an autopsy found that the pilot had severe coronary artery disease and heart damage, which increased his risk of a sudden cardiovascular event. Medical examiners could not rule out a heart rhythm disturbance, heart attack, or stroke in the moments before the crash. The report ultimately could not determine which of these factors, if any, caused the incapacitation, leaving the exact trigger officially undetermined.
What the Guidelines Say About the Drugs Involved
Aviation regulators have long flagged the antihistamines found in the pilot's system as a concern for pilots. FAA medical guidance lists diphenhydramine and doxylamine among medications tied to a recommended 60-hour no-fly interval after use. Separate FAA research has also examined first-generation antihistamines.
In another aviation case, a rapid descent ended in a crash into water, illustrating a fatal outcome in a very different setting.
For now, the Potrero crash stands as another entry in that troubling category: a seasoned agent, a routine mission, and a final report that answers some questions while leaving the central one open. The NTSB's findings close the formal investigation, but they do not resolve exactly what happened to the pilot in the 49 seconds that ended his flight.
