title: Driving-while-intoxicated history as a risk marker for general aviation pilots.
abstract: The Federal Aviation Administration conducts background checking for driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) convictions on all pilots. This study examined the association between DWI history and crash risk in a cohort of 335,672 general aviation pilots. These pilots were followed up from 1994 to 2000 through the aviation crash surveillance system of the National Transportation Safety Board. At baseline, 3.4% of the pilots had a DWI history. DWI history was associated with a 43% increased risk of crash involvement (adjusted relative risk: 1.43; 95% confidence interval: 1.15-1.77). The population-attributable risk fraction for DWI history was estimated as 1.4%. In addition to DWI history, male gender, older age, and inexperience were associated with significantly increased risk of crash involvement. The results of this study support DWI history as a valid risk marker for general aviation pilots. The safety benefit of background checking for DWI history needs to be further evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, 1830 E. Monument Street, Suite 6-100, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. ghli@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Susan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Yandong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiang
authors.forename: Jurek G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Grabowski
authors.forename: Melissa L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: McCarthy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000368:Aged; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011363:Professional Impairment; D018570:Risk Assessment