Study and Recommendations on the HIMS, FADAP, and Other Drug and Alcohol Programs within the USDOT

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While there is a limited data on safety-sensitive professionals, substance use disorders potentially affect pilots and flight attendants at the same rate as the general population - around 15 percent - but due to the high-risk nature of their jobs, aircraft operators are held to a higher standard for substance misuse on the job.

To protect the safety of the public and the aviation workforce, the Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS) and the Flight Attendant Drug and Alcohol Program (FADAP) were launched to help treat critical aviation workers - pilots and flight attendants, respectively - who misuse substances. In response to a congressional mandate, this new report reviews available evidence on the effectiveness of HIMS and FADAP and offers recommendations for improving these programs.

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188 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-70278-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-70279-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/27025

Suggested citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Substance Misuse Programs in Commercial Aviation: Safety First. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Richard G. Frank

Richard G. Frank, NAM - Chair, is the Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics emeritus at Harvard Medical School. He is a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies and Director of the Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy at the Brookings Institution. From 2009 to 2011, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) directing the office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy. From 2014 to 2016 he served as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in DHHS.

Dr. Frank’s research is focused on the economics of mental health and substance abuse care, long term care financing policy, prescription drug markets, and disability policy. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 1997. He is co-author with Sherry Glied of the book Better but Not Well (Johns Hopkins Press).

Dr. Frank received his Ph.D. in Economics from Boston University and BA in Economics from Bard College.

David L. Albright

David L. Albright is a University Distinguished Research Professor and the Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health Research at The University of Alabama. He uses behavioral health and social care expertise across Alabama, serving as principal investigator of the VitAL organization that oversees multiple state-focused projects that strive to study and improve services, policies, and social conditions for those with mental health, substance use disorder, and trauma-related challenges. Dr. Albright also serves on the board of directors for DCH Health System, a non-profit group of medical centers in the Tuscaloosa, AL area.

Dr. Albright is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and the National Academies of Practice in Social Work. His research examines both the health status and risk behaviors of individuals with trauma, psychiatric, or substance use history, and barriers and facilitators to their access and utilization of mental health and addiction services.

Dr. Albright received his MSW and PhD in social work from Florida State University.

Daniel N. Dasilva

Daniel N. DaSilva is an aerospace and pediatric neuropsychologist and a partner at the Morris Psychological Group in Parsippany, NJ. He is also a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education and he is on staff at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers in New Jersey. In his practice, Dr. DaSilva performs neuropsychological and psychological assessments of aircrew and air traffic controllers. He serves as a neuropsychology consultant to the Federal Air Surgeon of the Federal Aviation Administration and is an external consultant for several major airlines. He has presented at national and international conferences and symposia on the subject of aviation neuropsychology and has been accepted by the National Transportation Safety Board as qualified to provide expert testimony in aviation neuropsychology. Dr. DaSilva also serves pro bono on the planning committee for the annual HIMS Conference (a non-policy making body).

Dr. DaSilva is a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, American Psychological Association, New Jersey Psychological Association, Aerospace Medical Association, and the Aerospace Human Factors Association.

Dr. DaSilva earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a masters in Counseling Psychology from The University of Massachusetts at Boston, and bachelors in psychology from Boston College. He completed specialized neuropsychology training through the Veteran’s Administration in consortium with University Hospital in Newark, NJ.

Robyn L. Hacker

Robyn L. Hacker is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Addiction Science, Prevention and Treatment in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado. She is also the Lead Psychologist for The Professionals Program at the Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation (CeDAR) where she evaluates and treats professionals in safety sensitive occupations.

Dr. Hacker was previously the Clinical Manager for the Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP), a division of the Colorado Supreme Court dedicated to providing confidential assistance to legal professionals struggling with mental health concerns. She focuses her clinical work and research at the intersect of treating and evaluating substance use, trauma, and other co-occurring disorders. She is a licensed psychologist, licensed addiction counselor and EMDR consultant. Dr. Hacker has worked with youth, adults, and families in residential, intensive outpatient, and standard outpatient settings over the course of her career. She also has extensive experience treating professionals (including occasional pilots) and forensic patients and educating others about mental illness and recovery. Her dissertation project, the development and evaluation of an online mental health training for law enforcement, received the Outstanding Dissertation Award from Division 18 of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Hacker completed B.S. degrees in criminal justice and psychology at Loyola University Chicago, a Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Arizona State University, and pre- and post-doctoral fellowships in forensic addiction psychology at Yale School of Medicine.

Jermaine D. Jones

Jermaine D. Jones is an Associate Professor with the Division on Substance Use Disorders at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Jones’ area of interest has been to better understand how genetic factors influence the risk of developing substance use disorders, and the effectiveness of novel medications.

More recently, Dr. Jones’ research has begun to focus on community-based efforts to reduce the harms associated with opioid and psychostimulant use. Dr. Jones’ research has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Peter McManus Charitable Trust, and the Gray Matters Benefit of Columbia University. He has served on several NIH scientific review committees, is currently on the Board of Directors of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, and the Board of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Jones received his Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from American University, where his research focused on understanding the abuse potential of cocaine and alcohol. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship with Columbia’s Division on Substance Use Disorders researching the pharmacological and neurobiological drivers of opioid use.

Madeline H. Meier

Madeline H. Meier is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. Her research involves investigation of the causes, courses, and consequences of problematic substance use. Her work documenting the mental health, cognitive, brain, academic, social, economic, and physical health consequences of cannabis use is used regularly by policy makers, public interest groups, clinicians, and physicians. Dr. Meier also serves pro bono on the editorial board of the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science.

In 2019, Dr. Meier provided invited testimony to the US Senate on cannabis effects on health. She is the recipient of the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science and the Enoch Gordis Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Dr. Meier received her PhD in psychology from the University of Missouri in 2010, completed her clinical psychology internship at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2010, and completed her postdoctoral training at Duke University in 2013.

Michelle Meyer

Michelle N. Meyer is an Associate Professor of Bioethics at Geisinger Health System and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, where she is also Associate Director for Research Ethics and Faculty Co-Director of the Behavioral Insights Team (BIT), which uses principles of behavioral science to “nudge” patients, members, and clinicians to make healthy choices. Her normative and empirical research focuses on the intersection of applied ethics and behavioral science and has been published in leading journals of bioethics (American Journal of Bioethics, Hastings Center Report, Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal), law (Harvard Law Review, Administrative Law Review), and science (Science, Nature, PNAS), as well as in popular media outlets (New York Times, Slate, Wired, Los Angeles Times).

Dr. Meyer has served on an American Psychological Association blue ribbon commission and serves on the editorial board of Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science.

Dr. Meyer earned a Ph.D. in religious studies, with a focus on applied ethics, from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, she clerked for Judge Stanley Marcus of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College.

Terrie E. Moffitt

Terrie E. Moffitt, NAM, has extensive expertise in the areas of lifelong aging, mental health, and longitudinal research. She is the associate director of the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, which follows a 1972 birth cohort in New Zealand. She also founded the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study (E-Risk), which follows a 1994 birth cohort in Britain. Moffitt is a licensed clinical psychologist.

Dr. Moffitt is an elected fellow of the US National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, British Academy, UK Academy of Medical Sciences, and Association of Psychological Science. Moffitt is recipient of the Stockholm Prize, the Klaus Jacobs Prize, the NARSAD Ruane Prize, and the 2022 Grawemeyer Prize for her work on mental health, and the Maltilda White Riley Award from the NIH for her recent work on aging. She is chair of the NASEM Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences.

Dr. Moffitt received her PhD in psychology at the University of Southern California, and completed her postdoctoral training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

Kathryn E. Newcomer

Kathryn E. Newcomer is a professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University where she teaches graduate level courses on program evaluation and research design. She served as the Trachtenberg School director for over 12 years, until July 2019. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and serves on the Comptroller Generals Educators Advisory Panel. She served as president of the American ·Evaluation Association in 2017 and president of the Network of the Association of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) for 2006-2007. She routinely conducts evaluations for federal and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Newcomer has served on six Committees of the National Academy of Sciences. She has published ten books, and over 70 articles in journals including the Public Administration Review and the American Journal of Evaluation. She has received two Fulbright awards, the Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship Award for her scholarly work and lifetime achievement in the areas of performance management, government accountability, and program evaluation and many other awards as well.

Bernadette E. Phelan

Bernadette E. Phelan has combined executive and senior management experience encompassing the areas of public mental health and substance use services delivery systems, transportation, professional health regulation, and economic development. She has occupied varied positions with a broad range of responsibilities ranging from Project Director of the Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS) administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Assistant Director for the Arizona Medical Board, Chief of Research and Evaluation for the Division of Behavioral Health Services within the Arizona Department of Health Services, and Director of Special Studies for the non-profit National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute (NRI). She retired from the Arizona Department of Transportation after five years as Senior Research Project Manager. She is currently a member of the TRB Committee on Impairment in Transportation and the Committee on Women and Gender in Transportation. She is on the advisory panel for a number of national studies conducted under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP).

Dr. Phelan received her PhD in Economics at Keio University and her MA at the University of the Philippines.

Jeffrey Selzer

Jeffrey Selzer specializes in physician and medical student mental health. In his work for the Medical Society, he provides direction and oversight for a non-disciplinary pathway for New York physicians and medical students to receive mental health treatment and monitoring. In his work for Northwell, he provides direct mental health care to physicians and medical students. His research experience includes membership in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN) and service to the CTN as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Research Utilization Committee.

Dr. Selzer is chair of the Public Policy Committee for the American Society of Addiction Medicine and chair of the Addiction Psychiatry Committee for the New York State Psychiatric Association. He completed a residency in psychiatry at the University of California at Los Angeles and is board certified in Psychiatry and in Addiction Medicine (separate specialty boards and separate certifications). He has training and ongoing responsibilities as a Medical Review Officer (MRO) for the Medical Society and for Northwell; an MRO is a licensed physician who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program.

Dr. Selzer received his MD from the University of Michigan.

Mo Wang

Mo Wang is the University Distinguished Professor, Lanzillotti-McKethan Eminent Scholar Chair, and the Associate Dean for Research at the Warrington College of Business at University of Florida. He is also the Chair of the Management Department and the Director of Human Resource Research Center at University of Florida. He specializes in research areas of occupational health psychology and human resource management, especially on alcohol use at workplace. He received numerous research awards for his research in these areas, including Academy of Management (AOM) HR Division Scholarly Achievement Award, Careers Division Best Paper Award, European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Award for Work, Organizational, and Personnel Psychology, Emerald Group’s Outstanding Author Contribution Awards, Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP) William A. Owens Scholarly Achievement Award, and Journal of Management Scholarly Impact Award. He also received a number of Early/Mid-Career Contribution Awards from AOM, APA, SIOP, and Society for Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP). He is an elected Foreign Member of Academia Europaea (M.A.E) and a Fellow of AOM, APA, APS, and SIOP. Dr. Wang was the President of SOHP (2014-2015). He is currently serving on the President-track for Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (2021-2024). He is also the Editor-in-Chief for Work, Aging and Retirement. Dr. Wang received his Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University in 2005.

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Study and Recommendations on the HIMS, FADAP, and Other Drug and Alcohol Programs within the USDOT

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Study and Recommendations on the HIMS, FADAP, and Other Drug and Alcohol Programs within the USDOT

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Featured publication

Substance Misuse Programs in Commercial Aviation: Safety First

Description

Collaborators

Committee

Sponsors

Staff

Parent projects

Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences

Major units and sub-units

Contact

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Provide feedback

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More like this

Modernizing Mathematics Education for Grades 9-14

Health Care Financing to Improve Availability of Affordable Contraception: Identifying Promising Practices

Review of Methods in the Report on Carcinogens Handbook

National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Transportation Research Board Executive Office

Airport Cooperative Research Program

Social and Economic Systems Program Area

Study on Data, Metrics, and Analytic Tools for Transportation Investments that Support Family Quality of Life and Communities

Enhancing Scientific Integrity: Progress and Opportunities in the Social and Behavioral Sciences - A Workshop