Reporter Wayne Had Illegal Alcohol Level When He Died

Bruce Wayne, the airborne radio traffic reporter known to millions of Southern California commuters, had an illegal level of alcohol in his blood when he died last year in the fiery crash of his single-engine plane, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Wayne, 52, died instantly when his blue-and-white Cessna Cardinal slammed into an empty tractor-trailer rig moments after takeoff from Fullerton Municipal Airport at 6:18 a.m. on June 4, 1986.

The NTSB said an autopsy has determined that Wayne had a blood-alcohol level of .04--the level at which a pilot is considered legally intoxicated under Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

The autopsy was performed by the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s Department. Wayne flew for radio stations KFI and KOST.

The NTSB report, prepared by a team of investigators, does not speculate on the cause of the crash or whether alcohol played a role. An NTSB spokesman in Washington said Friday that a separate report outlining the probable cause of the incident will be issued in about 30 days.

Wayne, who lived in Fullerton, died a month shy of completing 25 years as a flying traffic reporter, 18 of those in Southern California. Wayne had logged more than 30,000 hours in the air and his voice was familiar to millions of Southland drivers.