Flying and Health — Page 108, Lesson 169

I want to walk you through a very important chapter now — Flying and Health. This is about the physiological and behavioural factors that directly affect your ability to operate an aircraft safely. Let's start with alcohol. As a pilot, you may be exposed to alcohol more than most people, and the book gives four reasons. First, alcohol is always available during travel. Second, it's cheap, especially duty-free. Third, it's often seen as a relaxer after a long and demanding duty period. And fourth, there's a tradition of the crew meeting after a flight at the hotel bar. These are real pressures, and you need to be aware of them. Now, here's the hard evidence. Recent in-flight research has confirmed that even in a small and uncomplicated aircraft, a blood alcohol concentration of just 40 milligrams per 100 millilitres — that's half the legal driving limit — is associated with significant increases in errors by pilots. So the margin for impairment is much thinner in the air than on the road. The regulation you need to know is from EU-OPS. It specifies a maximum blood alcohol limit for pilots of 20 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. That's half of the 40 mg/100 ml figure I just mentioned, and it's well below the typical driving limit. The British authorities have issued strong guidance. They advise that pilots should not fly for at least 8 hours after taking small amounts of alcohol, and proportionally longer if larger amounts are consumed. They go further and say it would be prudent for a pilot to abstain from alcohol for at least 24 hours before flying. That's the safe recommendation. One absolute rule: mixing the consumption of alcohol and drugs is absolutely prohibited. The book says this can lead to disastrous and unpredictable consequences. No exceptions. Now let's move to drugs and flying. Any use of recreational drugs, like alcohol, is incompatible with flight safety. The short-term effects alone are disastrous to intellectual and motor performance. But pilots should also be aware of the dangers of medicinal drugs, particularly the non-prescription "over the counter" type available in chemists and supermarkets. Just because you can buy it without a prescription doesn't mean it's safe to fly with. Let's talk about caffeine. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. It has had a long history in human cultures, yet it's one of the drugs that receives relatively little attention. However, it is the most widely used drug in the world. Because of the lifestyle, aircrews tend to have a comparatively high intake of caffeine compared with other professionals, and they should be aware of the dangers. Its effects on the body, both physiological and psychological, make it evident that caffeine is one of the drugs which may be abused and can lead to addiction. Caffeine is present in coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, and many fizzy soft drinks such as Coca Cola. Caffeine pills are also available and are sold as an aid to keeping awake and alert. It is also found in medications for dieting, the treatment of colds, allergies, and migraines. Now, here are the numbers you need to know. A consumption of 6 to 8 cups of normal strength tea or coffee a day will usually lead to dependence. And as little as 200 milligrams may reduce performance. For reference, an average coffee drinker consumes 3.5 cups per day, which gives them 360 to 440 milligrams of caffeine. For caffeine to be fatal, you'd need to consume 10 grams, which is approximately 100 cups of coffee. But before that, an intake of 25 to 30 cups a day is sufficient for the individual to hear odd noises, see flashes of light, exhibit withdrawal symptoms, suffer from extreme nervousness, and have an increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure. So the effects are serious long before you reach a fatal dose. That covers the key points on alcohol, recreational and medicinal drugs, and caffeine. These are all substances that can impair your performance, and as a professional pilot, you need to manage them carefully.