Alcohol
Alcohol impairs your bodies efficiency. Studies prove that drinking and performance deterioration are closely linked. You make hundreds of decisions, some of them time-critical, during the course of a flight. The safe outcome of any flight depends on you to make the correct decisions and take the appropriate actions during routine occurrences, as well as abnormal situations.
The influence of alcohol drastically reduces the chances of completing a flight without incident. In small amounts, alcohol can:
When you experience a hangover, your still under the influence of alcohol. Although you think you're functioning normally, the impairment of motor and mental response is still present. Considerable amounts of alcohol can remain in you for over 16 hours, so pilots should be cautious about flying too soon after drinking.
Altitude multiplies the effects of alcohol on the brain. When combined with altitude, the alcohol from two drinks may have the same effect as three or four drinks. Alcohol affects your brain’s ability to utilize oxygen. It produces a form of histotoxic hypoxia. The effects are rapid because alcohol passes quickly into the bloodstream. In addition, your brain is a highly vascular organ that is immediately sensitive to changes in the blood’s composition. For you, the lower oxygen availability at altitude and the lower capability of the brain to use what oxygen is there, add up to a deadly combination.
You determine intoxication by the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. You measure it as a percentage, by weight, in the blood. Flying an aircraft requires that blood alcohol level be less than .04 percent and, to pilot an aircraft, 8 hours must pass between that drink and flying an airplane. A pilot with a blood alcohol level of .04 percent or greater after 8 hours cannot fly until the blood alcohol falls below that amount. Even though blood alcohol may be well below .04 percent, a pilot cannot fly sooner than 8 hours after drinking alcohol. Although the regulations are quite specific, it is a good idea to be more conservative than the regulations.
"Stay away from the bottle when you want to hit the throttle" is a good slogan to remember.
One point indicates altitude contributes to the effect of alcohol. Lowered oxygen partial pressure from high altitudes affects other body system functions that lead to visual illusions and other phenomenon that are not pleasant experiences.
Alcohol impairs your bodies efficiency. Studies prove that drinking and performance deterioration are closely linked. You make hundreds of decisions, some of them time-critical, during the course of a flight. The safe outcome of any flight depends on you to make the correct decisions and take the appropriate actions during routine occurrences, as well as abnormal situations.
The influence of alcohol drastically reduces the chances of completing a flight without incident. In small amounts, alcohol can:
- impair judgment
- decrease sense of responsibility
- affect coordination
- constrict vision
- diminish your memory
- reduce reasoning power
- lowers attention span
- decrease the speed and strength of muscular reflexes
- lessen the efficiency of eye movements while reading
- increase the frequency at which errors are committed
When you experience a hangover, your still under the influence of alcohol. Although you think you're functioning normally, the impairment of motor and mental response is still present. Considerable amounts of alcohol can remain in you for over 16 hours, so pilots should be cautious about flying too soon after drinking.
Altitude multiplies the effects of alcohol on the brain. When combined with altitude, the alcohol from two drinks may have the same effect as three or four drinks. Alcohol affects your brain’s ability to utilize oxygen. It produces a form of histotoxic hypoxia. The effects are rapid because alcohol passes quickly into the bloodstream. In addition, your brain is a highly vascular organ that is immediately sensitive to changes in the blood’s composition. For you, the lower oxygen availability at altitude and the lower capability of the brain to use what oxygen is there, add up to a deadly combination.
You determine intoxication by the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. You measure it as a percentage, by weight, in the blood. Flying an aircraft requires that blood alcohol level be less than .04 percent and, to pilot an aircraft, 8 hours must pass between that drink and flying an airplane. A pilot with a blood alcohol level of .04 percent or greater after 8 hours cannot fly until the blood alcohol falls below that amount. Even though blood alcohol may be well below .04 percent, a pilot cannot fly sooner than 8 hours after drinking alcohol. Although the regulations are quite specific, it is a good idea to be more conservative than the regulations.
"Stay away from the bottle when you want to hit the throttle" is a good slogan to remember.
One point indicates altitude contributes to the effect of alcohol. Lowered oxygen partial pressure from high altitudes affects other body system functions that lead to visual illusions and other phenomenon that are not pleasant experiences.
