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Garrett Gordon
Mohammed Alsagoor
Michael Youngs
Professor Giles
December 6th
2013
Fatigue in Aviation
Throughout the flight historyhistory, pilot fatigue has always been an issue.
The topic of fatigue in the aviation environment has rarely been given enough
attention to, and that is partly because the problem is challenging to measure, and
partly because it is difficult to remedy. Fatigue affects pilots as well as everyone else;
however, it is can be a real danger because it puts the safety of passengers onboard
and the aircraft at risk. It is majoris a major human factor that has contributed to
many maintenance errors resulting in multiple accidents. There are a number of
factors that contribute to fatigue in the aviation industry, and pilot fatigue has
proven to be a danger that affects flight operations.
Fatigue is a threat to aviation safety because of the impairments in alertness
and performance that it creates. It is defined as a ‘non-pathological state resulting in
a decreased ability to maintain function or workload due to mental or physical
stress’ (PilotFriend). Therefore, the term fatigue can be used to describe a range of
experiences from sleepy or tired to exhausted or drained. It affects each and every
person much differently, and one person may tire before another. The only effective
treatment for fatigue is to get the adequate amount of sleep.
Fatigue can of course, be both physical and mental in nature. Fatigue is
closely related to other problems in the sense that it can be a symptom of them, or it
can be the cause of them. The most obvious cause of fatigue would be lack of sleep.
There are a number of causes of sleep deprivation that will affect the performance
of the pilot. According to PilotFriend, sleep is a vital psychological function, just like
food and water. Sleepiness of course, occurs when there is a lack of sleep. So, “sleep
loss” describes getting less sleep than is needed for greatest waking performance
and alertness and attentiveness. Also, “sleep debt” occurs when sleep loss is
accumulated over a number of days in a row of , not getting enough sleep
(PilotFriend).
Fatigue can also be cause by medications such as allergy medication. Allergy
medicine is known to cause drowsiness, blurred vision and confusion. Over the counter
drugs such as aspirin, antihistamines, cold tablets, nasal decongestants, cough mixtures,
laxatives, tranquilizers and appetite suppressors can impair the judgment of a pilot during
flight and on ground (The Effects of Drugs, Alcohol and Fatique on Pilots). Many pilots
think it is safe to fly an aircraft while taking motion sickness medication. It is safe,
however there are some motion sickness pills that cause drowsiness and depress the brain
function.
Pilots take great pride in their skills and in their abilities, yet they let their
performance worsen unnecessarily due to fatigue. Fatigue is often the cause of pilot
error and it is therefore often the vital link in the chain of events leading to an
accident. It is the reason that pilots do not make the right decisions or fly as well as
they can. If a reduction in fatigue yielded an increase in pilots’ decision-making
abilities and performance, then there would obviously be a decrease in pilot error
(SBI)
Inconsistent Work Schedule:
When a youpilot starts at your newa new job in the airline industry you will bethey
will be the lowest in seniority and are often getting a completely different work schedules
from month to month. This can be draining in itself and if youthey happen to work most
of the end of a month and then the most at the beginning of the next month.
Most people work off of an internal 24 hour clock referred to as our circadian
rhythms, which become interrupted when we work at odd hours or long hours.
According to Mayo clinic article mMany Americans work late night or overnight shifts
which disrupt these rhythms, our natural sleep cycle helps our bodies
One of the main problems with having an inconsistent work schedule is that
onceonce a pilot you gets used to waking up at one time and working at another time,
when youthey move them into a different shift it throws yourthe pilot’s inner balance off.
This , You will be exhaustinged when you start your shift and you will function at a much
lower standard. It can negatively affect yourthe pilots work if it is making your sleep
patterns irregular, due to yourthe circadian rhythm getting into one cycle and then getting
disrupted by your inconsistent work schedule.
Another factor to worry about is if you work a flight into the evening and then have
to get up the next morning and fly, if you didn’t get a good nightsnight’s sleep at the hotel
or your home then that morning flight could become one of missed checklists and
possibly a bad attitude with the flight crew. This would start a chain of events that would
lead to pilot error. The best way is to start the flight right and prevent error.
According to the Porter Regional Hospital, employees that who are required to work
the unconventional hours of shift work often find that they are forced to
dramatically change their sleeping patterns as often as every week, and in some
cases every day. Inconsistent shifts disrupt the sleep-wake schedule, and
unfortunately the body is not equipped to handle changes in circadian rhythms well,
which then causes failures to rest and rebuild itself (Porter Regional Hospital). Sleep
helps the body to replenish and regulate specific functions that are vital to good
health, including body temperature, blood pressure, digestion, regulation of
hormones, pulse rate, and repair and maintenance (Porter Regional Hospital).
Consequences of sleep deprivation include decreased work performance, memory
and cognitive impairment, stress relationships, poor quality of life, occupational
injury, and automobile injury (WebMD). Other factors leading to sleep deprivation
could include stress, anxiety and poor health. Moreover, International commercial
airline pilots may experience heightened fatigue due to irregular sleep schedules, long
duty days, night flying, and multiple time zone changes (Skybrary).
Pilots don’t do a lot of physical activity while on the job. Sitting down long
periods of the time can make the pilot sleepy rather than exhausted. Exhausted is the
feeling of being tired. However this doesn’t mean the person will fall asleep because it
