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Pilot Safety Brochure: Alcohol and Flying

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Pilot Safety Brochure: Alcohol and Flying General Recommendations References 1. As a minimum, adhere to all the guidelines 1. Medical Standards and Certification, 14 CFR Pt. § 67.107 (2012). of 14 CFR Part 91.17: 2. Alejandro Caro-Nuñez T, Chidester T. Literature Review and • 8 hours from “bottle to throttle” Recommendations Concerning Alcohol Tolerance Under Part 67. • do not fly while under the influence of alcohol Washington, DC: Office of Aerospace Medicine; 2018. DOT/FAA/ AM-18/5. • do not fly while using any drug that may adversely affect safety 3. Alcohol Facts and Statistics. NIH National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Web Site. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol- 2. A more conservative approach is to wait 24 hours health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics. from the last use of alcohol before flying. This Updated June 2017. Accessed October 20, 2017. is especially true if intoxication occurred or if you 4. Dubowski KM. Absorption, distribution and elimination of plan to fly IFR. Cold showers, drinking black alcohol: highway safety aspects. J Stud Alcohol. 1985;10:98–108. coffee, or breathing 100% oxygen cannot speed up the elimination of alcohol from the body. 3. Consider the effects of a hangover. Eight hours from “bottle to throttle” does not mean you are in the best physical condition to fly, or that your blood alcohol concentration is below the legal limits. 4. Recognize the hazards of combining alcohol You are in control Department of Transportation / consumption and flying. Flying, while fun and exciting, is a precise, Federal Aviation Administration 5. Use good judgment. Your life and the lives of demanding, and unforgiving endeavor. 14 CFR Part 121 - Antidrug and Alcohol your passengers are at risk if you drink and fly. Any factor that impairs the pilot’s ability Misuse Prevention Programs Keep in mind that regulations alone are no to perform the required tasks during the guarantee that problems won’t occur. It is far This rule amends the FAA regulations governing operation of an aircraft is an invitation more important for pilots to understand the drug and alcohol testing to clarify that each for disaster. negative effects of alcohol and its deadly impact person who performs a safety-sensitive function The use of alcohol is a significant self-imposed on flight safety. Provided by for a regulated employer by contract, including by Aerospace Medical Education Division, AAM-400 stress factor that should be eliminated from subcontract at any tier, is subject to testing. These the cockpit. The ability to do so is strictly To obtain copies of this brochure online: employees are removed from performing these ALCOHOL USE IN AMERICA within the pilot’s control. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/ functions if their breath alcohol concentration • Over 50% of American adults consume alcohol. registers 0.04 or greater on a required alcohol test, AlcoholAlcohol && • Per capita consumption is about 25 gallons per year. Alcohol avoidance or if they otherwise use alcohol in violation of the rule. They are also temporarily removed from • Alcoholic beverages are marketed in a v ariety of forms, with Ideally, total avoidance of alcohol should wine and beer being the most liked. FlyingFlying the performance of these functions if their breath or contact: be a key element observed by every pilot in • Different alcoholic beverages have different concentrations planning or accomplishing a flight. alcohol concentration registers between 0.02 - of alcohol; however , their total alcohol content can be the 0.039 on a required alcohol test. same. F or example, a pint of beer contains as much alcohol Federal Aviation Administration Alcohol avoidance is as critical as developing Civil Aerospace Medical Institute as a 51/2 ounce glass of table wine. Therefor e, the notion that Aviation employees performing safety-sensitive AAM-400 a flight plan, a good preflight inspection, functions are required to submit to the following: drinking low-concentration alcoholic bev erages is safer than obeying ATC procedures, and avoiding drinking hard liquor is erroneous. P.O. Box 25082 post-accident tests, random tests, reasonable Oklahoma City, OK 73125 severe weather. suspicion tests, return to duty tests, and • The total alcohol content of any alcoholic beverage can (405) 954-4831 be easily calculated using the following formula: “Proof” follow-up tests. divided by 2 = percent pure alcohol. A DEADLY COMBINATION OK-18-1620 Studies of how alcohol affects pilot Alcohol tolerance Type of Typical Serving Pure Alcohol Beverage (ounces) Content (ounces) performance Alcohol tolerance occurs when the brain • Pilots have shown impairment in their ability and body change over time to compensate Table Wine 4 .48 to fly an ILS approach or to fly IFR, and even for the sedative effects of alcohol. Tolerance Light Beer 12 .48 to perform routine VFR flight tasks while is dangerous. Tolerant individuals can still under the influence of alcohol, regardless of perform complex tasks at high BACs despite Aperitif Liquor 1.5 .38 individual flying experience. cognitive impairment. • The number of serious errors committed Champagne 4 .48 Under 14 CFR Part 67, tolerance is evidence by pilots dramatically increases at or above of alcohol dependence.1 It can develop with Vodka 1 .50 concentrations of 0.04% blood alcohol. This is daily or periodic heavy or binge drinking. not to say that problems don’t occur below this Whiskey 1.25 .50 Tolerant individuals must drink more in value. Some studies have shown decrements order to get the same effect they used to get in pilot performance with blood alcohol Table 1. Amount of alcohol in various alcoholic beverages. with fewer drinks. For example, non-tolerant concentrations as low as the 0.025%. • Brain effects include impaired reaction time, individuals have difficulty with complex tasks reasoning, judgment, and memory. Alcohol at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of decreases the ability of the brain to make use of 0.08, while tolerant individuals may perform oxygen. This adverse effect can be magnified as the same tasks at much higher BAC levels 2 a result of simultaneous exposure to altitude, (e.g., 0.16) . However, tolerant individuals characterized by a decreased partial pressure only “appear” to maintain cognitive function Alcoholic beverages, used by many to “unwind” or relax, The erratic effects of alcohol of oxygen. and motor skills at higher levels of blood act as a social “ice-breaker,” a way to alter one’s mood by alcohol. Actual cognition and judgment are • Alcohol is rapidly absorbed from the stomach and small • Visual symptoms include eye muscle imbalance, decreasing inhibitions. Alcohol consumption is widely still impaired.2,4 intestine, and transported by the blood throughout the which leads to double vision and difficulty accepted, often providing the cornerstone of social body. Its toxic effects vary considerably from person to focusing. gatherings and celebrations. Along with cigarettes, many person, and is influenced by variables such as gender, The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and • Inner ear effects include dizziness, and decreased adolescents associate the use of alcohol as a rite of passage body weight, rate of consumption (time), and total Alcoholism (NIAAA) argues that alcohol hearing perception. into adulthood. amount consumed. related problems (including tolerance) • If such other variables are added as sleep increase for men who drink 5 or more While its use is prevalent and acceptable in our society, • The average, healthy person eliminates pure alcohol at deprivation, fatigue, medication use, altitude standard drinks in a day (or more than 14 it should not come as a surprise that problems arise in a fairly constant rate. That is about to oz. of pure 1/3 1/2 hypoxia, or flying at night or in bad weather, the per week) and women who drink 4 or more the use of alcohol and the performance of safety-related alcohol per hour. This is equivalent to the amount of negative effects are significantly magnified. Hangovers are dangerous in a day (or more than 7 per week).3 The activities, such as driving an automobile or flying an pure alcohol contained in any of the popular drinks 1 medical literature shows that individuals who aircraft. These problems are made worse by the common listed in Table 1. This rate of elimination of alcohol is A hangover effect, produced by alcoholic have minimal observable effects at BACs of belief that accidents happen “to other people, but not to relatively constant, regardless of the total amount of beverages after the acute intoxication has worn off, 0.20% or higher are tolerant.4 Higher body me.” There is a tendency to forget that flying an aircraft is alcohol consumed. In other words, whether a person may be just as dangerous as the intoxication itself. weight is no protection against tolerance or a highly demanding cognitive and psychomotor task that consumes a few or many drinks, the rate of elimination Symptoms commonly associated with a hangover dependence. Airmen with higher body weight takes place in an inhospitable environment where pilots of alcohol from the body is essentially the same. are headache, dizziness, dry mouth, stuffy nose, may actually show tolerance or dependence at are exposed to various sources of stress. Therefore, the more alcohol an individual consumes, fatigue, upset stomach, irritability, impaired BACs as low as 0.15%.2,4 the longer it takes the body to get rid of it. judgment, and increased sensitivity to bright light. A pilot with these symptoms would certainly not Hard facts about alcohol • Even after complete elimination of all of the alcohol in be fit to safely operate an aircraft. In addition, • It’s a sedative, hypnotic, and addicting drug. the body, there are hangover effects that can last 48 to such a pilot could readily be perceived as being 72 hours following the last drink.
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