ALCOHOL AND CIVIL-AVIATION

In aviation medicine until the early 1960s the idea that pilots would fly while under the influence of alcohol was taboo. In the United Stat es of America, the taboo was broken when it became known that 30% of f atally injured pilots in general aviation had been under the influence of alcohol. Since then the rate has declined to 10%. No fatal acciden ts involving alcohol have been recorded in airline passenger transport . The prevalence of pilots flying under the influence of alcohol is un known. The lowest studied blood alcohol concentration (BAC) with impai red flying skill today is 0.025%, effectively suggesting that the perm itted level should be zero, but many aviation authorities have not yet translated such findings into rules and regulations. In the early 197 0s the US Federal Air Surgeon began to re-issue licences for rehabilit ated alcoholic pilots. Previously alcoholism had been a reason for man datory permanent grounding. The possibility of returning to the cockpi t first opened the way to early recognition of alcoholic pilots on a l arger scale. Today many airlines have their own alcohol programmes. Th is paper gives a brief account of the Swissair programme with its four phases: observation, intervention, treatment and follow-up.