Intoxicated in the air: drunk pilots make news but are rare
Every few months, a pilot somewhere in the world is stopped before a jet takes off because of suspicion of drunkenness. It makes headlines and gives nervous travellers another reason to avoid flying. Despite their notoriety, such cases are extremely rare. Each day, there are 90,000 flights around the world, carrying more than 8m people. And the overwhelming majority of pilots in those cockpits are sober. “Pilots take being fit to fly seriously and act accordingly," says one safety consultant. "Pilots know they are one of the most carefully monitored professions and therefore, are very conservative." Many pilots caught drinking on the job have later returned to the skies. The FAA has a process that allows recovering alcoholics back in the cockpit if they pass a medical evaluation and stay clean during monitoring for the next 5 years. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2016-08-31/general/intoxicated-in-the-air-drunk-pilots-make-news-but-are-rare
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Intoxicated in the air: drunk pilots make news but are rare
Every few months, a pilot somewhere in the world is stopped before a jet takes off because of suspicion of drunkenness. It makes headlines and gives nervous travellers another reason to avoid flying. Despite their notoriety, such cases are extremely rare. Each day, there are 90,000 flights around the world, carrying more than 8m people. And the overwhelming majority of pilots in those cockpits are sober. “Pilots take being fit to fly seriously and act accordingly," says one safety consultant. "Pilots know they are one of the most carefully monitored professions and therefore, are very conservative." Many pilots caught drinking on the job have later returned to the skies. The FAA has a process that allows recovering alcoholics back in the cockpit if they pass a medical evaluation and stay clean during monitoring for the next 5 years. <br/>
