Pilot substance abuse and health issues discussed by aviation attorney Mary Schiavo

Former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation and Motley Rice aviation attorney Mary Schiavo appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto on September 16th, 2010, to discuss substance abuse and other health issues with regards to active airline pilots.

A new report has been released indicating that thousands of pilots have been treated for drug and alcohol abuse since 2008. Of concern to many is that these numbers only reflect those pilots whose abuse has been reported to the FAA. Schiavo says that a larger cause for concern may be the potentially large number of pilots who have a substance abuse problem that has not been reported to the FAA.

While the FAA mandates that a pilot may only fly if he has not had a drink in the previous eight hours, most airlines have a zero tolerance policy stating that a pilot is not fit to fly if any alcohol is present in his or her system.

Read more about how Motley Rice aviation attorneys work to protect passenger rights.