Where do your limits lie?
The question of how we know when we are in excess of the current limit is an important one to me. As we are all regularly made aware, different people metabolise alcohol in different ways and there are many variables to go along with it, as have already been described. When you turn up to work how can you be sure that your body has processed all the alcohol it received at last in take? I hear some people answer, don't drink at all, but that takes away the right to choose and means that your days free of duty remain under the control of the company or licensing authority. To me this is unacceptable.
Currently, the first indication a pilot may have that he has exceeded prescribed limits is when the police board the aircraft and have adminstered their test. I understand that one carrier, and possibly more, provide breath analysers to allow the pilot to test themselves and should they show to be over the limit they are able to report sick without pay. Only if this becomes a regular occurrence are questions asked. I think this is the way forward for us here in the UK as is the removal of taboo status for the whole subject. If we are able to talk on the subject more freely then views can be more readily aired. Maybe this is a subject to be discussed at the next CRM renewal.
I agree that the security guard could have dealt with the matter in a different way but do also appreciate the difficulty in approaching a pilot with such a suspicion. Maybe a card (similar to those used by many carriers these days) could be provided or an invite to use the provided test equipment to assess ones suitability for duty. Maybe amongst the professionals (respecting the fact that this forum has become widely used by interested parties and journalists) we could come up with some suggestions that may save one of our careers one day while maintaining the social life that I feel is important in the stressful envroment that is aviation today. I for one will be investing in a home unit to be able to measure my own tolerance and metabolic rate so as to avoid the unfortunate situation that Capt. Nichols has found himself in.