Alcohol physiology

Alcohol impairs a pilot in several ways beyond the obvious loss of judgement:

• Histotoxic hypoxia: a high blood alcohol level stops the cells using the oxygen they receive, so your altitude tolerance drops (TC AIM AIR 3.2.1).
• Inner-ear balance: alcohol is concentrated in the inner-ear fluid and lingers there after the blood is clear. That is the hangover balance loss (TC AIM AIR 3.9).
• Fixed clearance rate: the body clears alcohol at a set rate. Coffee, oxygen and medication do not speed it up, only time does.
• Small amounts matter: even about 0.05% has been shown in simulators to reduce piloting skills.

The legal bottle-to-throttle timing (12 h, CAR 602.03) is covered separately in the air-law alcohol lesson.

Trap: thinking a hangover is safe once the blood alcohol reads zero. Balance effects and impairment linger, and nothing speeds the clearance.

Practice