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Pilot’s Operating Manual
Revision A1: Nov, 2002
Hawker 800XP Pro Line 21
Section VII - SAFETY INFORMATION
(b) Except in an emergency, no pilot of a civil aircraft may allow a person who appears to be intoxicated
or who demonstrates by manner or physical indications that the individual is under the influence of
drugs (except a medical patient under proper care) to be carried in that aircraft.
Because of the slow destruction of alcohol by the body, a pilot may still be under influence eight hours
after drinking a moderate amount of alcohol. Therefore, an excellent rule is to allow at least 12 to 24
hours between "bottle and throttle," depending on the amount of alcoholic beverage consumed.
Drugs
Self-medication or taking medicine in any form when you are flying can be extremely hazardous. Even
simple home or over-the-counter remedies and drugs such as aspirin, antihistamines, cold tablets,
cough mixtures, laxatives, tranquillizers, and appetite suppressors, may seriously impair the judgment
and coordination needed while flying.
The safest rule is to take no medicine before or while flying, except after consultation with your Aviation
Medical Examiner.
Scuba Diving
Flying shortly after any prolonged scuba diving could be dangerous. Under the increased pressure of
the water, excess nitrogen is absorbed into your system. If sufficient time has not elapsed prior to take-
off for your system to rid itself of this excess gas, you may experience the bends at altitudes even under
10,000 feet.
Carbon Monoxide and Night Vision
The presence of carbon monoxide results in hypoxia which will affect night vision in the same manner
and extent as hypoxia from high altitudes. Even small levels of carbon monoxide have the same effect
as an altitude increase of 8000 to 10,000 feet. Smoking several cigarettes can result in a carbon
monoxide saturation sufficient to affect visual sensitivity equal to an increase of 8000 feet altitude.
Decompression Sickness
Pilots flying unpressurized airplanes at altitudes in excess of 10,000 feet should be alert for the
symptoms of “decompression sickness”. This phenomenon, while rare, can impair the pilot’s ability to
perform and in extreme cases, can result in the victim being rendered unconscious.
Decompression sickness, also known as dysbarism and aviator’s “bends”, is caused by nitrogen bubble
formation in body tissue as the ambient air pressure is reduced by climbing to higher altitudes. The
symptoms are pain in the joints, abdominal cramps, burning sensations in the skin, visual impairment
and numbness. Some of these symptoms are similar to hypoxia. The only known remedy for
decompression sickness is recompression, which can only be accomplished in an unpressurized
airplane by descending.
The pilot should immediately descend if it is suspected that this condition exists, since the effects will
only worsen with continued exposure to the reduced pressure environment at altitude and could result,
if uncorrected, in complete incapacitation. The possibility of decompression sickness can be greatly
reduced by pre-breathing oxygen prior to flight and by commencing oxygen breathing well below the
altitudes where it is legally mandatory.
