Why would you need a standard lower than .04 BAC? USAirways delio...

[FN FAL]

US Airways investigating whether pilot was drinking

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A US Airways flight to Philadelphia was delayed Friday after a pilot was alleged to have been under the influence of alcohol, an airline spokesman said.

Los Angeles International Airport police detained the pilot before he boarded the plane, and conducted a test that determined he was not legally intoxicated, airline spokesman Phil Gee said. The pilot was released and will not face any legal charges, Gee said.

However, the company was continuing to investigate whether the pilot had been drinking because it has a stricter standard for its pilots than the legal standard for intoxication.

The blood-alcohol level for US Airways pilots is lower than the .04 percent limit allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration. That standard is half California's .08 percent legal limit for driving.

"The pilot was taken off-duty," Gee said. "He certainly didn't go anywhere near an aircraft."

The incident started when someone in the airport complained that the pilot smelled of alcohol.

The pilot's name and other information were not released.
Airport police referred calls to the airline.

The scheduled 1:45 p.m. flight to Philadelphia left Los Angeles two hours late.

 

[BushwickBill]

Maybe the higher standards are in refrence to the 8 hours bottle to throttle (or was it 8 feet bottle to throttle), or it could be to the real hang up in the reg: the magic word intoxicated. If you gave a general statement like intoxicated to a lawyer he could stretch its meaning to lock away every pilot in the country.

 

[A Squared]

Why a higher standard? Why not? would you feel warm and fuzzy about a pilot who quit drinking 8 hours ago, yet still had a BAC of 0.035%? That would be legal, but how competent would he be? I'm thinking; not very. using one of those little BAC calculators, I find that 0.04% is 3 beers in hte last hour, for somone my weight. SO ignoring hte 8 hours, I could be under the legal BAC limit with 2-1/2 beers in hte last hour. should I go flying? Probably not. I don't see anything too mysterious about an airline chosing to hold thier pilots to a higher standard. I understand that 12 hours bottle to throttle is fairly common as a company policy, and 24 hours is not unheard of. Imposing a lower BAC limit doesn't seem to me to be too much of a stretch.

 

[rettofly]

Maybe the higher standards are in refrence to the 8 hours bottle to throttle (or was it 8 feet bottle to throttle), or it could be to the real hang up in the reg: the magic word intoxicated. If you gave a general statement like intoxicated to a lawyer he could stretch its meaning to lock away every pilot in the country.

IMHO, the regulation is absurd.

While it is legal to show up for duty with .04 and fly with .02 as long as none of the alcohol was consumed within 8 hours of flight, it is a violation to have a sip of any alcoholic beverage within eight hours even if it is fully metabolized before flight (BAC 0.00).

Thus, it is legal to fly with a monumental hangover as long as it was acquired more than 8 hours before flight, but not legal to fly with a clear head if any alcohol was consumed less than eight hours before flight.

I think the regulation should be changed to require 8 hours and 0.00 BAC.

 

[DiamondFlyer]

0.00? You'd better be scrubbing your teeth with baking soda.

 

[mar]

My bottle to throttle rule

My employer says they'll fire me with a BAC 0.02% or greater.

Forget about eight hours. I don't drink the day before I fly.

 

[cezzna]

I read once that the .04% came from diabetics. If you have diabetes, your body creates alcohol. Thus it is possible for a borderline diabetic to blow a low number on a BAC test with no drinking involved.

 

[Axel]

But isn't diabetes a disqualifying condition for a medical certificate?

 

[WMUchickenhawk]

I think its only Diabetes that is treated with Insulin. If it is controlled by diet, you are Ok.

 

[rettofly]

0.00? You'd better be scrubbing your teeth with baking soda.

I read once that the .04% came from diabetics. If you have diabetes, your body creates alcohol. Thus it is possible for a borderline diabetic to blow a low number on a BAC test with no drinking involved.

Good point, guys. Wasn't thinking about diabetis and other possible causes.

My concern was the possibility of legally flying with a hangover .