Fatigued, Medicated Student and Club Utilisation Pressure
A 19-year-old student arrives at the club for a solo navigation flight. He smells of alcohol, admits to 'a couple of beers' the previous evening, and says he has started a new antihistamine for hay fever. He is also visibly tired and distracted after a family bereavement and has hardly slept. He insists he is fine, has a practice theory test tomorrow, and needs the solo hours. The instructor is under pressure from the club to maintain aircraft utilisation and has already booked the aircraft. The weather is fine and the aircraft is serviceable. The student's medical certificate is current, but he has not declared the new medication. The instructor's own duty period started at 06:00 and it is now 17:30; he has flown 7.5 hours and feels tired.
1. Should the student fly? Address alcohol, medication, fatigue and bereavement.
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No. The combination of recent alcohol, a new antihistamine, sleep loss and bereavement is a clear fitness-to-fly problem. The legal alcohol limit is not a target, and 'a couple of beers' the previous evening may still leave alcohol or hangover effects. The medication may impair alertness and must be assessed against the medical certificate; the student has not declared it. Fatigue and grief affect judgement and reaction time, and a solo navigation flight is a high-workload task. The instructor should stand the student down, not negotiate. If there is any question about alcohol, the safe and lawful decision is not to fly. The instructor should not accept the student's self-assessment as sufficient when there are observable signs of impairment.
2. What are the instructor's duty-of-care and supervisory responsibilities, including documentation and referral?
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Treat the student's welfare as part of the supervisory role, not an inconvenience. Record the decision, the reasons and the advice in the training record. Advise the student to see his GP or aviation medical examiner about the medication and to declare it. Refer the matter to the chief instructor. Offer support and a rebooking. Do not endorse the solo or the logbook as if the flight occurred. Maintain confidentiality so far as practicable, but share the safety-relevant information with those who need it. If the student insists on flying, escalate. The instructor is accountable for authorising solo flight and for not placing a vulnerable student in command of an aircraft.
3. What about the instructor's own fitness and the club pressure?
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The instructor is also fatigued: a duty day from 06:00 to 17:30 and 7.5 hours flown. He should not supervise a solo or fly if his own fitness is compromised. Hand over to another instructor or cancel. Club utilisation pressure is not a defence to a fatigue or fitness-to-fly breach. The organisation should have a fatigue policy and a just culture that allows stand-downs without penalty. The instructor should report the fatigue and the student welfare issue through the safety system, and document that commercial pressure did not override safety. If the club's scheduling repeatedly creates this conflict, it is a systemic issue for the safety manager, not just an individual judgement call.