- EDGEWATER, Md. (AP) -- U.S. authorities are looking into whether the impotence
drug Viagra may have contributed to the plane crash that killed actor William
Gardner Knight by impairing his vision. It's the first such investigation
into whether Viagra played a role in a plane crash, said Kathryn Creedy,
a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman.
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- Knight, 56, was killed Saturday when
his light plane crashed in Maryland. Investigators have asked the state
medical examiner to determine whether he was using Viagra, but declined
comment about why the request was made. "Viagra affects pilots' colour
vision, possibly impairing their ability to distinguish between blue and
green. These colours are used extensively in airport lighting and cockpit
instrumentation," Creedy said. Last month, the FAA recommended that
pilots avoid taking the drug within six hours of flying because its side-effects
can include difficulty in distinguishing certain colours. Pamela Gemmel,
a spokeswoman for Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that makes Viagra,
said that during testing on men, three per cent reported "visual disturbances"
that ranged from sensitivity to light to seeing a bluish-green haze.
-
- Knight, who appeared in films including
Wall Street and Born on the Fourth of July, left Delray Beach, Fla., on
Saturday morning and made two stops before trying to land at Lee Airport
in Edgewater about 5:30 p.m. The engine appeared to have been stopped before
the plane hit the water, said Larry Walker, who is heading the investigation
for the Anne Arundel County Police.
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