Introduction

Kenyans are well known for many things, among them, their ability to party from dusk till dawn and to imbibe vast quantities of liquor with ease. Many employers tend to discourage drinking before or during work hours due to the complications that come with inebriation and/or hang overs.

In aviation where safety is the overriding principle, drinking before or at work is obviously scorned upon. Operators are very strict on the use of alcohol. The International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) have their set of strict regulations that dictate the use of psychoactive substances such as alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulant, hallucinogens, and volatile solvents, etc.

What’s the KCAA’s “Bottle to Throttle” rule?

This rule refers to the number of hours before a flight that a pilot must stop drinking alcohol. A pilot should not use alcohol within 8 hours of a flight and cannot have a blood alcohol content above 0.04%. Most airlines tend to have an even stricter bottle to throttle window in which the pilot must abstain from alcohol for 12 or more hours before a flight.

How are Pilots Tested for Alcohol Before Flying?

While KCAA regulations state that a pilot should never fly while under the influence of alcohol the reality is that rare cases of such have been reported before since not all pilots may exhibit good judgment the way they should. In this regard, operators/airlines are required, under section 48 of the Civil Aviation Act, to have an effective drug and alcohol testing system approved by KCAA.

In practice, the testing system may include random tests, reasonable suspicion tests, return to duty tests, follow-up tests and post-accident tests.

Waiting Period After Bottle to Throttle

The rate at which the body breaks down alcohol in the system may vary from person to person depending on such things as age, gender, illness and medication thus it may not be a good idea to report to work 8 hours after drinking.  In fact, the longer the wait period the better since you have such things as a hangover to worry about. Most pilots have a much broader window in which they will not use alcohol within 24 hours of flying.

Pure alcohol leaves the body at an average rate of about 0.015g/100mL per hour. Put differently, for an average man, this is the rate of about one standard drink per hour.

Estimating your Blood Alcohol Content

Let’s say that a male pilot who weighs around 68 kgs has consumed 4 bottles of beer with an Alcohol by Volume (ABV) of 5.8% over 4 hours. The pilot’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is around 0.088%. He then waits around 4 hours after his last drink and thinks he is ready to fly. Is he really ready to hit the run way? Let’s find out. Here’s a formula one can use to approximate their BAC level;

(Elimination rate x number of hours since last drink)

(Estimated BAC) – (elimination rate x hours since last drink)

(0.088) – (0.015 x 4 hours = 0.06) = 0.028 BAC

(0.088) – (0.015 x 5 hours = 0.075) = 0.013 BAC

(0.088) – (0.015 x 6 hours = 0.09) = 0.002 BAC

It seems that the pilot may be in the clear after 6 hours. However other factors such as illness, food and medications can all play a factor to delay the elimination rate and the risks outweigh any benefits.

It gets complicated as the formular may be used to find out at what point the pilot started drinking and at what point his BAC was highest. This is a leading indicator of substance abuse and dependence and almost a guarantee that the pilot will be subject to disciplinary measures.

Legal and Medical Consequences of Failing an Alcohol Test

An airman who fails a random alcohol test will likely face disciplinary measures such as dismissal, certificate suspension or revocation and legal action from KCAA and a myriad of interested parties especially where an accident occurs.

In unfortunate instances where airmen have failed a random drug or alcohol test, they should get an aviation lawyer or expert who will guide them through the process and put them in the best possible position.