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Are You Really Fatigued? - Pilot Fatigue

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Here is a good article that describes pilot fatigue from Michael Moody, Jr. Pilot fatigue has been and is continuing to be a huge problem for pilots nationwide.

We work in a challenging environment that requires many of us to be awake during the exact hours when we biologically need to sleep. In addition, we are often on duty for long periods of time while dealing with circadian shifts and then try to sleep while the rest of the world is awake. Have you just gotten used to feeling tired? Or, are you fatigued? 

There is a difference between being tired and being fatigued.

Fatigue is a debilitating condition that affects your ability to process complex thoughts. When you are fatigued you have passed slow thinking and gone directly to “stupid.” The inherent danger of fatigue is that your body may feel OK, but your mind is not able to perform at the same level. So how do you know if you are fatigued if you can’t think clearly?

Are you fatigued?This is the danger of trying to determine if you are fatigued based on how you feel.

As professionals we tend to base our decisions on lessons learned from prior experience. This can be counterproductive as it relates to fatigue. There is a chance that you have been fatigued in an aircraft in the past and nothing bad happened. Do this a few times and your perception of the risk involved in operating while fatigued is skewed in a very dangerous direction. This is further compounded by our current fatigue management system in aviation that relies on the crewmember to make the very difficult decision that they are fatigued. Is it really smart to require the “stupid” person to make difficult, complex decisions?

The good news is that science is finally starting to catch up with our operating environment and we now have some tools that can help you operate safer. As far back as 1997 researchers realized a direct correlation between cognitive ability and mental acuity for those under the influence of alcohol and those suffering from fatigue.

Research shows that people that have been awake for 17 hours have the mental acuity of a person with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05%. Those that have been awake for 21 hours equate to a BAC of 0.08%. Both of these BAC exceed the legal limit for a professional pilot. [1] 

So how can this information be useful for a crewmember? Before every single duty period look back to the time that you last awoke from a restorative sleep cycle (> 5 hours of sleep) and count the hours awake. Then add the hours until you expect to be released into rest. This total equals your total hours awake. If it exceeds 17 hours you are in danger of being fatigued.

Thinking another way, if you have had less than 7 hours sleep in the previous 24 hours counting from the end point of your duty period, you are operating with the mental acuity of a legally intoxicated pilot.

A second tool that has been published recently by scientific researchers is that a person is likely to not suffer the debilitating effects of fatigue if their duty period does not exceed the total amount of sleep of the previous 48 hours. In other words, add together the total amount of sleep received in the previous 48 hours, and this total should equal the maximum time on duty 

. [2]

For example, if during the previous 48 hours you slept six (6) hours one sleep cycle and seven (7) hours during a second cycle you should expect that any duty period that exceeds thirteen (13) hours would put you in a fatigue state.

Notice that neither of these two tools asks how you “feel.” When you are fatigued you are “stupid,” and asking unquantifiable questions of a person having trouble making decisions is not smart. Is it appropriate to ask an intoxicated person how they feel? So does it make any more sense to ask yourself how you feel when what really matters is whether you will be fatigued at the end of your duty period?

Use the two tools in the graphic above to reach a scientific conclusion that can help you decide if you are safe to continue on duty. These tools will only be effective if you use them proactively to prevent yourself from operating while fatigued.

Finally, remember that these tools do not take into account multiple time zone shifts, or dealing with an accumulated sleep debt.

 

Michael Moody Michael Moody, Jr is Chairman of the Independent Pilots Association Safety Committee and a DC8 first officer.

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Comments

10 Responses to “Are You Really Fatigued? - Pilot Fatigue”

  1. Ross on October 6th, 2007 6:51 am
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    Nice Post!

  2. Niagara Guy on October 12th, 2007 12:45 pm
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    Ive heard that if you stay up for 3 days straight, you are legally declared iNsAnE!

  3. Mike C on October 13th, 2007 11:50 pm
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    That is pretty crazy. To be honest it scares me a little for the next time I fly because I am going to be thinking about whether the pilot is fatigued or not.

  4. TigerTom on October 15th, 2007 4:27 pm
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    Even a small bit of booze, or lack of a few hours sleep, can throw your reflexes right off. I know, because I play video games :)

  5. Mike C on October 17th, 2007 2:04 am
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    I just wanted to let you know that you have some amazing photographs from the sky. They are really cool.

  6. jeffrey on October 18th, 2007 3:20 am
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    people who are working nite shift are more susceptible in fatigue…

  7. PetSafe Dog Collar on October 18th, 2007 3:22 am
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    The effects of fatigue can be devastating not only to our body but also to our jobs as well.

  8. Electronice pet fence on October 18th, 2007 3:24 am
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    I usually lack sleep everyday… now i know why i feel this way and cant seem to perform and concentrate very well with my work.

  9. Rv levelers on October 18th, 2007 3:33 am
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    Fatigue can really do something to our body’s system… and its really scary especially if you handle delicate matters like being a pilot, driving a bus or any occupation that involves other people’s lives…

  10. Leroy on October 18th, 2007 7:18 am
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    You would have to be insane to be able to stay awake for 3 days.

  11. Matthew Anton on October 22nd, 2007 5:45 pm
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    when I first got into online games I stayed up for almost 3 days straight at a time…the mind is weird cause you get fatigued then get a second wind sometime, but it’s very unhealthy and these guys really have a demanding job with a huge responsibility.

  12. El Yanqui on October 23rd, 2007 7:08 am
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    When I was in the navy it wasn’t uncommon at all to go many, many hours without sleep. What you’re saying here makes sense. We would start making stupid mistakes, lose physical coordination and become mean drunks. All without the benefit of alcohol.

    I’ll be glad to know that my pilots aren’t in the same condition.

  13. Sam on November 1st, 2007 6:54 pm
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    Living with two FAs, I believe its the airline who needs to do a better job with pay and layovers. And it should stop with the crew. I work on boats. It’s the job of everybody to check every ten minutes with the person behind helm. This should be the way in airline industry to prevent something from happening.

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