To ensure aviation safety is not compromised due to the consumption of alcohol of by pilots, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued revised guidelines for conducting pre-flight and post-flight breath analyser tests on the crew.
The country’s aviation regulator has said that even if the alcohol levels were zero in the body, the side effects of a hangover could affect flight safety.
Extended impact
“It is a well-known fact that even when the blood alcohol levels are zero in the body, there could be some effect of hangover, which is mainly due to congeners. These congeners may take 15 to 18 hours to get dissipated and may produce ill effects for up to 36 hours depending upon the amount of alcohol consumed,” the DGCA said in a safety advisory.
Even 12 hours after a bout of drink, when blood alcohol level remained zero, there could be a decrease in performance. “Alcohol present in body even in small quantities jeopardises flight safety on several counts and is likely to adversely affect an aviator well into the hangover period,” the advisory said.
‘Significant deterioration’
The aviation watchdog said that alcohol also interfered with the enzymatic cellular process or oxidation, causing hypoxia and reduced an individual’s tolerance with increase in altitude.
“It is known that a low alcohol blood level between 30 mg% to 50 mg% disturbs the sensor-motor, visual and cortical reaction. Consumption of alcohol results in significant deterioration of psychomotor performance and decreases the amount of mental capacity available to deal with many essential tasks involved in the conduct of safe flight,” the regulator said.
In the event of an emergency, the crew member under the influence of alcohol would not be capable of dealing with the problem. The level of blood alcohol compatible with safe flying is ‘Zero’, which was also recommended by International Civil Aviation Organisation. “It is equally important to intensify the educational programme for crew members regarding the inherent dangers of flying after consumption of alcohol,” advisory says.
Explaining the procedure to be followed for the breath-analyser examination of the crew members and aircraft maintenance personnel, the DGCA said that in all scheduled operators operating scheduled/ charter/ non-scheduled flights originating from India, each flight crew and cabin crew member should be subjected to pre-flight breath-analyser examination at first departure airport during a flight duty period.
For all scheduled flights originating from destinations outside India, post-flight breath-analyser examination of each flight crew and cabin crew should be carried out at first port of landing in India.
Airline operators were told to have a doctor holding an MBBS degree/ trained paramedics/ emergency medical technician (EMT)/ B.Sc (Nursing) on full-time employment of the company to conduct pre-flight breath-analyser examination at a designated place within the airport premises.
Alternatively, they could avail pre-flight breath-analyser examination services of the government/ licensed private hospitals located on the premises of the airport.
Accident protocol
In case of an accident at an airport or in its vicinity, the Officer in-charge of the airport “should ensure that the crew members are immediately subjected to medical check-up for consumption of alcohol.”
In the event of the accident occurring at a location far away from the airport and the local police being the first responders, and the crew members being alive, the procedure for collection of blood/urine samples should be performed by the police at the nearest hospital, the DGCA said.
