service airplanes, many casual pilots (weekend pilots) are not so covered. Medical standards and certification processes have been modified to include medical disqualifications for substance abuse, but it remains difficult to determine whether all pilots in the air at any one time are operating without being under the influence of substances which can inhibit their flying. Just as the Omnibus Act covers professional truck drivers but not the average commuter, so it also covers professional pilots but not the weekend aviator.
General Aviation and Alcohol/Drug Testing
Beginning in 1995, random drug tests went into effect in the transportation industry (including rail, air and vehicles); the expected industry cost over a ten-year period was projected at more than $200 million. During the first year, the tests were required at companies employing more than 50 people; subsequent testing will be required when firms have fewer than 50 people on staff. The initial random alcohol testing rate for aviation employees is 25 percent, but that rate could drop to 10 percent if the total number of
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