Drug and alcohol use in pilots can have a detrimental impact on
aviation safety. Important cognitive and psychomotor functions
necessary for safe operation of an aircraft can be significantly
impaired by drugs and alcohol. The purpose of this study was to
determine the prevalence and nature of drug and alcohol-related
accidents and incidents in Australian civil aviation. A search of
the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's accident and incident
database was conducted for all occurrences in which drugs or
alcohol were recorded between 1 January 1975 and 31 March 2006.
There were 36 drug and alcohol-related events (31 accidents and
five incidents). The majority of these occurrences were related to
alcohol (22 occurrences). The drugs identified included
prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and illegal drugs
(including heroin and cannabis). Drug and alcohol events accounted
for only 0.02 per cent of all the occurrences listed on the
Australian Transport Safety Bureau's database. Drug and
alcohol-related accidents accounted for 0.4 per cent of all
accidents. Furthermore, 89 per cent of drug and alcohol occurrences
resulted in an accident, with the proportion of these 32
occurrences that resulted in an accident quite high, at 86.5 per
cent. Fatal accidents accounted for 67 per cent of all drug and
alcohol occurrences. The results of this study show that the
prevalence of drug and alcohol-related accidents and incidents in
Australian civil aviation is very low, but that the related
accident and fatality rates are high. The planned introduction of a
mandatory drug and alcohol testing program into the Australian
civil aviation industry will provide a more prescriptive approach
to the issue of drug and alcohol use in pilots. Education and
training remain important elements of an overall approach to
reducing the significant impact of drug and alcohol use on flight
safety.

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Dr David G Newman