Mike, it's never going to be possible to rule out the potential of luck having played a hand in the UK not having had an accident where the major contributory factor was alcohol. Fatal accidents and major incidents are not the only products of flying whilst either intoxicated or otherwise impaired. Maybe you can fly on a bottle of wine safely, but out of all the pilots whom this law effects take the 10% who have the slowest metabolism, throw in an unhealthy liver, moderate fatigue, domestic problems, perhaps a bit of post traumatic stress... and you have an irrefragably lethal mixture. Now try telling me a pilot who's had a few glasses of wine is sensible, or that any law which might exist permitting it is sensible (whilst flying of course). Perhaps it is, perhaps I'm stark raving mad. But it is afterall the public which buys the tickets, of whom 1 in 3 are scared to fly; the very idea that their pilot would be slightly intoxicated might not appeal to them.
And for your official figures, how about mandatory breathalyzation when reporting for flying duty? The number of complaints about that ought to be a fair indicator of who fully appreciates the immiscibility of flying and intoxication.
And most European pilots are probably aware of a lot of things when they're sitting behind a computer.
Last edited by selfin; 4th Dec 2004 at 16:24.