Overview
Just as alcohol seriously reduces one's ability to safely operate a car, it makes the operation of an aircraft highly unsafe. The FAA recognizes this safety issue and has enacted stringent safety requirements regarding its use prior to operating an aircraft. A pilot should never operate an aircraft when he or she is under any influence of alcohol. Not only are decision-making and motor skills degraded, a person with alcohol in their system experiences the degradation of other bodily functions at altitude such as eyesight and respiration, normally associated with histotoxic hypoxia.