My daughter unfortunately saw this damage after the fact when on a school trip. Pretty tragic to say the least.
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Mother of teen-age suicide pilot files suit against drug company
April 16, 2002 Posted: 3:52 PM EDT (1952 GMT)


TAMPA, Florida (CNN) -- The mother of a teen-age boy who flew a Cessna aircraft into a Tampa office building filed a $70 million wrongful death and negligence lawsuit Tuesday against the manufacturers of a drug the boy took to treat acne.

Attorneys for Julia Bishop charge that Accutane, manufactured by Roche/Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., had severe psychiatric side effects on 15-year-old Charles Bishop. Bishop flew a single-engine plane into the 42-story Bank of America Plaza building in downtown Tampa on January 5, killing himself instantly. No one else was injured.

The boy had a prescription for Accutane, but investigators did not believe he had any of the drug in his system at the time of the crash.

Representatives from the pharmaceutical giant did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

More at:

http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/04/16/teen.pilot.lawsuit/index.html

Apparently Accutane is a Swiss drug. From the Swiss press:

The family of the young American who crashed his plane into a building in Florida is seeking SFr70 million in damages from the Swiss pharmaceuticals group, Roche.


The relatives of the 15-year old Charles Bishop said the severe psychological side effects caused by an acne treatment had driven the youngster to crash his Cessna plane into a skyscraper in the city of Tampa.

The lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Michael Ryan, said Roche’s Accutane treatment generated feelings of “psychological alienation”, depression or suicide in some patients, such as Bishop.


http://www2.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=161&sid=1114982

Interesting. I had heard prior to this tragedy that there was some thought that accutane was making teenagers suicidal. Wonder if there is any truth to that?

From the FDA:

Psychiatric Risk Management–Accutane
WARNINGS
Psychiatric Disorders: Accutane may cause depression, psychosis and, rarely, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide. Discontinuation of Accutane therapy may be insufficient; further evaluation may be necessary. No mechanism of action has been established for these events (see ADVERSE REACTIONS: Psychiatric).

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/accutane/accutane_psychdisorders.htm