Crash of bombing survivor determined a suicide

Tuesday, February 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Laurence Martin survived the Oklahoma City bombing, but apparently not a broken heart. Martin died in a plane crash on Oct. 11, 1998, that has now been ruled a suicide, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Martin, a fifth-grade teacher, was killed when the single-engine plane he was flying went down near a northwest Oklahoma City church shortly after taking off from Wiley Post Airport. The NTSB report said the chief medical examiner in Oklahoma City conducted an autopsy and found that "the manner of death was determined to be suicide."

The report noted that Martin's girlfriend reportedly had turned down his marriage proposal the day before the crash. The plane crashed near the church where the woman was exiting after services. Tests performed by the Federal Aviation Administration's Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory detected diazepam in Martin's kidney and liver tissue. Diazepam, more commonly known by the brand name Valium, is used to relieve anxiety, nervousness, and tension associated with anxiety disorders. The use of diazepam is not approved of by the FAA for pilots.

An inspection of the Cessna 172 less than a month before the crash showed no problems with the plane. Witnesses to the crash reported the engine running with no evidence of it missing or backfiring before it plowed propeller-first into the ground.

Martin, 41, had rented the plane. The NTSB said the owner of the plane asked the control tower to ask Martin to return to the airport because he taxied for takeoff at about 40 mph, a speed the owner considered too fast. The plane had already taken off by the time the owner called the tower. The controller advised Martin of the owner's request, and Martin acknowledged receiving the message but did not return, the NTSB report said.

A Wiley Post line service technician who refueled the airplane reported that the pilot "seemed to be in a hurry" and performed a "very brief" walk-around inspection of the plane during refueling. He also reported that the pilot tipped him $20, which "seemed unusual."

Martin was working as an Army recruiter when a truck bomb exploded and destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. The attack killed 168 people and injured hundreds. Martin, whose left arm was injured in the bombing, testified during the 1997 trial of Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted and sentenced to death in the crime.