Twenty-two pilots caught under the influence on flying duty
An average of nearly two United States pilots every month are found to be drunk while on flying duty, according to a report by the US Federal Aviation Authority. The organisation, which conducts random breath tests for pilots, found 22 to be drunk in 2002, compared with nine the previous year.
And, according to the Daily Telegraph, nine have been caught drunk on duty this year. The newspaper reports that similar trends have been picked up in the UK; between 12 and 15 commercial pilots lose their licences each year because of alcohol abuse.
Presently there is no legal alcohol limit for pilots, but there are plans to introduce a limit of 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood later this year. This represents a quarter of the road users’ limit, but as yet there is no random testing for pilots.
A spokesman for the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) told the Telegraph that it is in favour of offending pilots being treated rather than punished, and that the Government is presently looking at ways to introduce a “peer intervention programme” whereby pilots are encouraged to report the bad behaviour of others.
