Accidents caused by fatigue
After a number of serious traffic accidents, more stringent restrictions were placed on the legally permissible driving hours of professional transport drivers. Current regulations require a break after 4.5 hours at the latest, and the maximum driving time of 10 hours is now strictly controlled by the police.
And in air transport? How can it be justified that pilots are legally permitted to work up to 15 hours a day? Is flying less stressful? Does it involve less responsibility? Regular breaks, particularly in the hectic field of short distance operations (up to flight times of about 2.5 hours), are wishful thinking. And unlike road transportation, up in the air you cannot simply pull over to a lay-by when you are feeling tired.
Tired pilots a safety risk
The effects of fatigue are comparable to those of consuming alcohol: A person’s ability to perform decreases noticeably (Studie). Not only is this common sense, it has also been scientifically proven that accident rates increase the longer pilots are on duty. After a flight time of 12 hours, the risk of an accident increases dramatically. When the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) undertook a study of the flight accidents between 1978 and 1990, they discovered that half of the flight captains concerned had been on duty for more than 12 hours at the time of the accident. (NTSB 1994) Merely a coincidence? Surely not!
Recently in the USA, it was decided, against the strong opposition of the airlines to combat the safety risk from fatigue in the cockpit by means of stricter regulations on flight time limitations. These new regulations take effect in 2013. They are based on scientific evidence. In the US, it was a crash by a regional jet in 2009 that drove this decision. Both pilots on the unlucky aeroplane were extremely fatigued at the time of the accident, in which more than 50 people died. In Europe, on the other hand, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is of the opinion that fatigue does not play a fundamental role in aviation accidents. Do European pilots have more physical working capacity and recover faster than their American counterparts? Surveys conducted in Germany, UK, Denmark and other countries speak a clear but different language.
Further examples of aviation accidents in which fatigue of the crew played a role are available here.
Exhaustion – as bad as being drunk
Fatigue in cockpits – a well-known problem
Accidents caused by fatigue
More Backgrounds:
Pilot’s Discretion decision a safety risk: Extending the maximum flight time limitations by the pilot-in-command to 15 hours causes an excessive increase in the risk of accidents. Latest News: The latest proposal from 18th of January 2012 from the European Aviation Safety Agency provides an extension of this regulation even further up to 16 (!) hours MORE
Split duty: A work shift that is interrupted by an extended break can legally be lengthened well beyond the actual maximum working hours permitted. The lack of available sleeping facilities during the breaks, however, hinders the necessary rest and recuperation. MORE
Overlong shifts: Contrary to scientific recommendations, work shifts are longer than 12 hours. The risk of accidents increases by more than five times on flights with duty times of over 13 hours compared to flights with a nine-hour duty period. MORE
Night shifts: The unique stress caused by the human biorhythm during night work is not taken into consideration sufficiently. MORE
Rest periods during long distance flights: The allocated rest periods during long distance flight assignments often contrast sharply with scientific findings. MORE
Extreme workload within short time frames: The work shifts are not always allocated at the same times on each workday, and can therefore be concentrated within short time periods. This can have a powerfully negative impact on the pilot’s performance, especially towards the end of highly stressful work periods. MORE
Stand-by duty: To be able to react to possible irregularities additional cockpit personnel need to be scheduled on stand-by. It is vital that the pilot’s wake time is taken into consideration here. If they are first notified to report for work in the evening, by then they have already been awake for such a long time that by the end of their shift they may well have had to do without sleep for about 21 hours. MORE