This work assesses whether persons convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) are at increased risk of alcohol-related general aviation accidents. Prior research has shown a clear link between DWI convictions and pilot-error accidents in commercial aviation. However, no extant literature has addressed whether DWI convictions are associated with increased risk of alcohol-related aircraft accidents. To evaluate a hypothesis, 308 912 pilot records over a 10-year period were analyzed using logistic regression. After potentially confounding variables were controlled, DWI convictions were found to be associated with alcohol-related aviation accidents. Pilots with DWI convictions were about 3.5 times more likely than pilots without convictions to have alcohol-related general aviation accidents. Actual or potential applications of this research are discussed.
Abstract