Levels of marijuana above the legal driving limit were found in the blood of a Durango pilot who crashed a World War II aircraft on July 4, 2014, killing two, a recently-released investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Board found.
“It obviously makes this a whole different type of crash,” said Mona Schlarb, whose husband, Michael, was teaching Durango resident John Earley how to fly the rare and difficult-to-operate aircraft. “This was a terrible chance to take with two lives at stake.”
According to the report, Earley’s blood tested positive for 6.3 nanograms of tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as THC, the active compound in marijuana. The legal driving limit for THC levels in Colorado is 5 nanograms.
Also, a total of 30.8 nanograms of tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid (THC-COOH, an inactive metabolite of marijuana) were found in Earley’s blood. Jann Smith, La Plata County Coroner, said that level usually indicates the drug was used fairly recently before the blood was tested.
Michael Schlarb’s blood tests were negative for any alcohol or other drugs.
“It was very disheartening to hear that someone would be this careless on their first flight (at the helm) on a P-51 (Mustang, a World War II fighter plane),” Schlarb’s wife of 29 years said Wednesday.
A certified private pilot, Earley, 51, had recorded 263 total flight hours, with 53 of those in the 1944 airplane, which he purchased for more than $1 million in 2013.
According to NTSB reports, local flight instructor Michael Schlarb, 53, had helped Earley get his private pilot license, mostly flying a Beechcraft T-6 Texan, a single-engine aircraft designed for flight training.
To learn how to fly the notoriously difficult 1944 aircraft, Earley in June 2013 again hired Schlarb, who held multiple instructor certificates and had logged more than 12,000 flight hours.
“I’ve been a flight instructor for 20 years, but this was kind of a special case,” Schlarb told The Durango Herald in April 2014. “It commands a lot of respect. It’s no toy.”
On July 4, 2014, Earley was set to take the helm of the iconic aircraft from the front seat. It’s unclear if it was Earley’s first time manning the fighter plane, the NTSB’s lead investigator Courtney Liedler said. The plane had been modified to add flight controls in the rear seat as well, according to the report.
“It was never clear as to what the intent was to that flight,” she said.
However, moments after the powerful airplane lifted off about 9 a.m. from the Durango-La Plata County Airport, it banked left and crashed about 90 feet north of County Road 309A, in a hayfield just outside the airport perimeter fence.
Liedler said the NTSB will adopt a “probable cause” of the crash in the coming weeks.
Schlarb’s wife, Mona, for her part, was at a loss for words on Wednesday.
“I don’t know what to do or say at this point,” she said. “I guess I would like to say: People need to be aware that just because something is legal to do in one state, it does not mean it’s the right thing to do whenever you are in a situation with something with that much power.”
Schlarb is survived by his wife and two children, Shane and Amber Brown, both of Durango; his parents Bill and Sharon Schlarb who live in Canada; and sisters Cathy Stewart, of Tucson, Arizona, and Beverly Coke, of California.
According to previous statements made by his family, Schlarb moved to Durango in 1979 and became the youngest firefighter hired by the Durango Fire Department at that time.
He spent 18 years with the department before he pursued a second career as a pilot and instructor, including flying for TriState CareFlight.
“Everyone who knew Mike admired his personality traits and respected his impeccable integrity,” his family said. “He had a calming and patient demeanor that served his life well in both of these demanding career choices that require a cool head under pressure.”
Earley, also a Durango resident, was CEO of Saddle Butte Pipeline, and is survived by his wife, Jodi, and two daughters. He told The Durango Herald in a 2013 feature his grandfather had flown similar bombers during the war.
“It’ll put a smile on your face every time you fly it,” he said of the antique plane, of which only about 120 remain.
Attempts to reach his wife, Jodi, were unsuccessful; it is unclear if Earley used marijuana for medicinal purposes.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
