Tests to Back Up No-Drinking Rule for Flight Crews

Pilots, flight engineers and cabin attendants will be required to undergo blood-alcohol testing if they are suspected of flying while impaired by liquor.

New Federal Aviation Administration rules, effective Wednesday, supplement the eight-hour “bottle-to-throttle” regulation, which prohibits drinking by crew members for eight hours before a flight.

Crew members will be considered under the influence if they have a blood-alcohol level of 0.04% or higher--a tougher standard than states use for motorists.

Under the new rules proposed last year, flight personnel would not have to submit to random blood testing before flights, but would be required to undergo testing if local law enforcement officers request it. A test could be ordered if there is reason to suspect that a crew member has been drinking.

“Refusal could result in the lifting of a certificate to fly,” FAA spokesman Fred Farrar said.