In contrast to driving I read recently that there is no actual legal limit to a pilots intake of alchohol, in fact they are allowed to drink prior to take off.
Obviously if a pilot was found under the influence he would lose his licence and job, it just seems odd to me that they are allowed to drink and then pilot an aircraft with peoples lives under his responsibility.
Any pilots out there who know what the rules are.
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Hi Mal
I am not a pilot, but I do know several.
You are sort of correct about the legal limit for drink for pilots. They have a 10 hour rule (as of a few years ago anyway). This essentially means that they can drink as much as they like, as long as the drinking stops 10 hours before they fly. I know for a fact that you can hammer a significant quantity and still be over the driving limit after 10 hours. If they were found to be under the influence then they would not be allowed to fly. I am not sure what the penalties are, but the pilots I knew weren't overly concerned about it as they were never checked.
I hope this helps
Jonathan
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If you go to the www/pprune.org.uk/ and the thread at www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8...2
you can get their perspective on all the coverage in the bellylaugh. Read the warning atthe bottom of the page first though!
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I suppose it's very hard to miss the sky, going up; and then on a long haul there is a further eight or ten hours coffee to get the head clear for landing!
Tomo
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\"in fact they are allowed to drink prior to take off.\"
No they are not. It is a criminal offence (UK) to be drunk on an aircraft (incidentally as a pilot or a passenger). It is also a criminal offence to endanger an aircraft and it could be argued in a court that piloting an aircraft while under the influence is endangering it. This legislation was framed long before breathalyzers and blood alcohol testing were developed, so there are at present no numerical limits in the UK, although there are in some other countries, these being very new laws. Parliament is currently debating numerical limits for pilots and a blood alcohol figure of 20 or 40 might be eventually used (as against 80 for drivers). 20 is the minimum that can be accurately detected; it is a further complication that it seems to be a medical possibility for some people to have that level naturally, ie wothout any alcohol at all.
UK airlines each have an internal rule, that pilots must obey on pain of dismissal etc, that specifies a minimum time between drinking and coming on duty, which is usually an hour or so before actually flying, and a requirement to drink only in moderation even before the specified time buffer. This time buffer might be 8, 10 or 12 hours.
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\"in fact they are allowed to drink prior to take off.\" No they are not.
UK airlines each have an internal rule, that pilots must obey on pain of dismissal etc, that specifies a minimum time between drinking and coming on duty, which is usually an hour or so before actually flying.
Hew, I was only quoting what I read in the press.which as anybody knows is not always the truth or fact.
But in your posting you leave me confused as to whether you are saying they can or can not drink prior to take off.
I was not suggesting they would be sitting in the cockpit drinking from a bottle of whiskey by their side immediately before take off.
Prior:- [earlier, before.]
Regards Mal.
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I now realize that my earlier post could have been slightly better worded, pity there's no edit facility.
I said there is a minimum time between drinking and coming on duty (typically 8, 10 or 12 hours). My next point was intended to be that there is an additional buffer to this period, of typically nearly another hour, between coming on duty and actually boarding the aircraft, therefore making my original figures nearer 9, 11 or 13 hours respectively. Contrary to popular opinion, pilots don't just turn up at the airport, jump in the aircraft and take-off. I also emphasized that there is an additional requirement to drink only in moderation even before that time, and 'in moderation' is pretty low, probably lower than most people would think.
If that is your area of confusion I hope it's now clear. If not, sorry I can't help further.
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