Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 14, 1990 TAG: 9007140100
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Until about three years ago, he routinely showed up to work only three or four hours after a night of heavy drinking. (Federal rules prohibit a pilot from drinking within eight hours of flying.)
Today he is a counselor in a support group for alcoholic pilots. And his group is one of many.
About 1,200 airline pilots have been treated for alcoholism and have returned to the cockpit since the government began a rehabilitation program for them 15 years ago, said Dr. Burton Pakull, chief psychiatrist at the Federal Aviation Administration.
Statistics on pilots with drinking problems are hard to come by, but industry and government officials said they believed treatment programs are not reaching all pilots who drink too much.
And although most pilots in treatment programs say they never mixed drinking and flying, Bruce K. is not alone among pilots who said they have flown while drunk.
The arrest of three Northwest pilots in May, charged with flying while under the influence of alcohol, has brought new attention to the issue.
The pilots, who have since been fired, deny the charges. Their trial is scheduled July 25. They could face up to 15 years in prison.
"The Northwest incident establishes very clearly that there is a great potential for tragedy," said Stephen Hilton, spokesman for Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., sponsor of a bill that would require random alcohol testing of pilots.
Only testing for drugs like marijuana or cocaine is now required.
But some experts fear alcohol testing will simply force pilots to seek treatment without the airline's knowledge, as was the case before the rehabilitation program began in 1975.
Since the Northwest pilots' arrest, counselors have reported an increase in the number of pilots seeking help for alcoholism.
"All of us in the industry are glad that the incident was publicized," said Chuck G., a retired pilot from Seattle who was one of the first in the rehabilitation program. "It was a good warning to people."
Since 1984, 61 professional pilots have had their licenses suspended or revoked for flying while drunk.
"For every pilot I treat, there are five more who just sneak into early retirement," said Dr. Joseph Pursch, director of the Addiction Institute in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Pursch, a psychiatrist, helped start the rehabilitation program.
Today, every major airline has a confidential rehabilitation program. They represent unusual cooperation among a government agency, a major industry and a union.
With a success rate of more than 90 percent, they are regarded by counselors as models for other recovery programs.
Experts attribute the high success rate to close monitoring and a strong motivation to fly again.
"It put the job on the line in the most clear and unequivocable way," Pursch said.
Nobby Hall, a union representative at Trans World Airlines who helps detect pilots with drinking problems, said, "You get them where they live: pride, ego and a $100,000-a-year salary."
About 85 percent of the pilots who have problems with alcohol are flagged by fellow pilots. And evidence of a drinking problem must be verified by at least two colleagues.
Still, there is reluctance to turn in a fellow pilot.
"Every pilot I treat, it's clear that he should have been treated 10 or 15 years ago," said Pursch.
by CNB