Pilot Driving Records to Be Probed for Drug and Alcohol Convictions

The Transportation Department announced a campaign Tuesday to ferret out commercial and private pilots who have had alcohol- or drug-related problems but who have not reported them when applying for a pilot’s license.

The department said its Inspector General’s Office will begin matching Federal Aviation Administration computerized files of pilot medical certificates with FBI files and centrally kept highway traffic records to find pilots who have had drug or alcohol convictions.

Federal regulations require that drug-related convictions be included in applications for a pilot’s medical certificate. A failure to include such information could be considered intentional falsification of the application and grounds for suspension or revocation of a pilot’s license, officials said.

Although there is no such FAA rule in connection with alcohol abuse, the agency announced that it will begin developing new regulations to “establish guidelines” on when a person’s alcohol-related automobile driving record may be used in determining whether the person may hold a pilot’s license.

The development of the new regulations is expected to take from six months to a year, officials said.

The drug and alcohol initiatives apply to commercial pilots and people holding private pilot licenses, the officials said.

John Mazor, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Assn., which represents 34,000 commercial pilots, said the union would have no comment until the Transportation Department action is studied more closely.

The announcement was made a day before scheduled House subcommittee hearings on drug and alcohol abuse among pilots.