title: Pilot performance with blood alcohol concentrations below 0.04%.
abstract: The effects of a low (less than 0.04%) BAC on pilot performance were investigated in a series of four experiments in which pilots flew a light aircraft simulator under alcohol and placebo conditions. The mean BACs of subjects when starting and finishing the test sessions were 0.037% and 0.028%, respectively. Two of the experiments involved demanding flight tasks under instrument meteorological conditions: complicated departure, holding, and approach procedures in one case; and VOR-use intersection problems in the other. The other two experiments involved ILS approaches under turbulence, cross wind, and simulated wind shear conditions that imposed heavy control-task loads on the pilots. Significant alcohol effects were found, but only under the heaviest workload conditions. During posttest interviews 75% of the pilots reported physical and/or mental effects due to alcohol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Yeazel
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Chau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol