PDF version: MIS 014 Alcohol consumption and medical aviation safety [PDF 237 KB]
Alcohol is a legal recreational drug that is used by many people. While alcohol can be consumed and enjoyed in a way that does not jeopardise aviation safety, it is also possible to engage in patterns of alcohol consumption that are not safe.
There is no measurable level of blood alcohol that is safe for aviation. Any elevation of your blood alcohol level is associated with a reduction in your performance and capabilities (impairment), and so reduces your ability to fly safely.
The civil aviation legislation (see Looking at the law) requires pilots, acting in their official capacity, to not be ‘intoxicated’ so as to be impaired. Those provisions (Civil Aviation Rule 19.7) continues to relate the impairment to the consumption or use of “any intoxicant, sedative, narcotic, or stimulant drug or preparation”, which clearly includes alcohol which is both an intoxicant and a sedative.
There is no legislated time period, after drinking alcohol, where you can rely on being safe for aviation. While having a zero blood alcohol level is essential for aviation safety it is also possible to have such a level and still be unsafe due to other effects of alcohol, including a hangover.
Some operators attempt to encourage safe alcohol consumption patterns in their aviation personnel through having ‘bottle to throttle’ policies.
To consume alcohol and fly safely it is necessary to:
The CAA considers a drink driving episode to be a warning or ‘red-flag’ for the possibility of unsafe drinking habits. As such a drink driving episode, whether or not a conviction ensues, is considered to be a serious matter in respect to aviation safety.
Upon becoming aware of a drink driving episode the CAA, usually via a Medical Examiner, will seek further information in an effort to clarify the applicant’s drinking habits and to ensure that they are safe. Depending on the nature, recency, and frequency of any drink driving episodes the CAA may seek:
The CAA may also suspend/disqualify a medical certificate or impose conditions on a medical certificate while the further information is being sought.
Once the further information has been received a variety of options are possible, ranging from no further action against the medical certificate through to suspension/disqualification.
There is no easy answer to this question. Each case is assessed on its individual merits.
In the past people have attempted to suggest algorithms (e.g. No drink drive conviction for more than two years is ok) for determining whether an applicant’s drinking behaviour is safe. While this approach has not proven to be satisfactory, the following can be said:
An isolated drink-drive conviction is unlikely to result in removal of medical certificate privileges unless there are other factors suggesting the offence is actually ‘the tip of the iceberg’ of an unsafe drinking pattern of behaviour. At the other end of the spectrum an alcohol dependant person (alcoholic) is unlikely to be returned to flying until after they have completed a rigorous treatment program, and an adequate period of time has elapsed without their consuming alcohol. Even then they will be monitored very closely upon their return to flying.
Yes, this is possible. The CAA adopts a disease model when considering serious alcohol problems. In doing this, we do not consider (e.g.) alcohol dependence to be a character flaw, or a moral failure, but a disease or medical condition. The corollary to taking this approach is that we also believe that someone who may be (e.g.) alcohol dependant can be adequately treated and monitored and returned to aviation safely.
This is rarely easy, and not everyone is able to achieve such a success, but there are pilots and air traffic controllers who have succeeded in demonstrating adequate treatment and ongoing safe behaviour, after severe alcohol problems … and have returned to being safe and active operational members of our aviation community.
Our experience suggests that the probability of success, in returning to flying after a serious alcohol problem, is improved by residential inpatient rehabilitation and good support networks at the workplace and home.
Alcohol problems vary, as does their severity from an aviation safety perspective. Generally, however, to return to flying after a serious alcohol problem you will need to satisfy the CAA that you are now entirely safe, and that will most probably include the following.
Most people drink moderately, or not at all, and are well able to control their drinking be- haviour. However, people with more serious drinking problems have often lost a lot of the control they need to maintain safe drinking patterns. This loss of control is a feature of many drinking and other drug use problems.
It may be possible for people with milder drinking problems to modify their behaviour and adopt safer, more controlled, patterns of alcohol consumption. The CAA does not view controlled drinking as being an adequately safe method of managing the more severe alcohol related problems and will usually require inpatient rehabilitation programs and ongoing abstinence before considering such applicants for medical recertification.
There are many patterns of alcohol use that are unsafe from an aviation perspective but would not result in the person being labelled as alcohol dependent or alcoholic. The CAA is concerned with all patterns of drinking that reduce safety, not just those of alcoholics.
While the details will vary there are some common features that CAA looks for when considering returning someone to flying (or ATC) status after a significant alcohol problem has been identified.
You are always able to seek review of CAA medical certification decisions. For further information on review/appeal options you may wish to consult:
RIS 005 What Are My Review Options? [PDF 235 KB]
The main provision that precludes people for aviation activity while they are suffering the effects of alcohol can be found in Part 19 of the Civil Aviation Rules.
No crew member while acting in his or her official capacity shall be in a state of intoxication or in a state of health in which his or her capacity so to act would be impaired by reason of his or her having consumed or used any intoxicant, sedative, narcotic, or stimulant drug or preparation.
The medical standards that relate to alcohol / drug use can be found in Rules 67.103 (Class 1), 67.105 (Class 2), and 67.107 (Class 3). The general provisions that require an applicant to have “no medical condition that is of aeromedical significance*” will also apply. There are also other areas of Rule Part 67 that relate directly or indirectly to the aviation safety aspects of alcohol and alcohol consumption. Some of these are listed below.
Psychoactive substances means alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens, and volatile solvents, but excludes coffee and tobacco.
An applicant for a medical certificate must− ...
(4) disclose or authorise the disclosure to the Director and the medical examiner of any in- formation relating to the applicant’s medical condition or history, including information concerning any conviction for an offence involving the possession or use of drugs or alcohol that the Director may reasonably require under Sch 2, cl 3 of the Act to determine whether the applicant satisfies the standards for a medical certificate.
Nervous system
