Flight Crew Fatigue Essay
How Does Flight Crew Fatigue Affect Flight Operations?
Introduction:
In this report, I will be writing about the effects of flight crew fatigue, and how it has the ability to affect flight operations. Operating a flight as a commercial airline pilot, it can become very tiring which develops into a problem as it starts to affect their performance.
Background Information
The aviation industry requires a 24/7 operation resulting in shifts that are long and of unsociable hours. Machines are able to persist for hours, days or months without much maintenance but in comparison with a human being, we are not specifically designed for continuous operation and which is why human fatigue is a high …show more content…
From the CHIRP reports, there have been many complaints of different fatigue related issues by pilots and it seems to be the most frequent and consistent complaint. They continue to receive significant number of reports describing incidents attributed to the cumulative effects of fatigue or citing their shift patterns as a potential fatigue cause (CHIRP, 1996).
Regardless of regulations in place, fighting against fatigue is an ongoing battle for flight crew, especially during the night, because once it turns dark, your body’s circadian rhythm (biological clock) automatically responds leaving you feeling sleepy (National Sleep Foundation, 2012). One complaint that has been reported to the CHIRP was a pilot who had been flying long haul for approximately 15 years. He had never felt more fatigued in 12 months than his entire career due to the tiring inconsistent rostered shift patterns. It was even said that s/he and other crew members were so fatigued that an incident was waiting to happen (CHIRP, 1996). Complaints like this are evident that regulations are not being complied by airliner’s thus creating such fatigued pilots which can result in
Introduction:
In this report, I will be writing about the effects of flight crew fatigue, and how it has the ability to affect flight operations. Operating a flight as a commercial airline pilot, it can become very tiring which develops into a problem as it starts to affect their performance.
Background Information
The aviation industry requires a 24/7 operation resulting in shifts that are long and of unsociable hours. Machines are able to persist for hours, days or months without much maintenance but in comparison with a human being, we are not specifically designed for continuous operation and which is why human fatigue is a high …show more content…
From the CHIRP reports, there have been many complaints of different fatigue related issues by pilots and it seems to be the most frequent and consistent complaint. They continue to receive significant number of reports describing incidents attributed to the cumulative effects of fatigue or citing their shift patterns as a potential fatigue cause (CHIRP, 1996).
Regardless of regulations in place, fighting against fatigue is an ongoing battle for flight crew, especially during the night, because once it turns dark, your body’s circadian rhythm (biological clock) automatically responds leaving you feeling sleepy (National Sleep Foundation, 2012). One complaint that has been reported to the CHIRP was a pilot who had been flying long haul for approximately 15 years. He had never felt more fatigued in 12 months than his entire career due to the tiring inconsistent rostered shift patterns. It was even said that s/he and other crew members were so fatigued that an incident was waiting to happen (CHIRP, 1996). Complaints like this are evident that regulations are not being complied by airliner’s thus creating such fatigued pilots which can result in