Pilot Fatigue Documentary
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Pilot Fatigue Documentary
Hi everyone, my name is Paula Slier and I posted a few times in the past as part of a series of reports I did for RT (Russia Today) on pilot fatigue while covering the FlyDubai crash in March. Sadly the topic faded with time but our investigation hasn't. That's why we are now working on a documentary about this global challenge facing the airline industry. The documentary will air on RT which is watched in more than 60 countries and we are looking for pilots from different airlines and countries that would agree to be interviewed and can share both facts and personal stories with us - the focus is fatigue as an international airline problem/challenge. Of course, as in the past, all information will be treated with the utmost confidence. We do need people to appear on camera. First prize is being able to show your face - second prize is we will blur all details. I will come with a cameraman to interview you.
We've had many pilots contacting us and are now try to get in touch with pilots working for airlines operating in this region. Anyone who is willing to participate can contact me at [email protected]
Here is a link to some of the work we've done: https://www.rt.com/op-edge/338525-fl...nalism-russia/
Thank you in advance,
Paula Slier
We've had many pilots contacting us and are now try to get in touch with pilots working for airlines operating in this region. Anyone who is willing to participate can contact me at [email protected]
Here is a link to some of the work we've done: https://www.rt.com/op-edge/338525-fl...nalism-russia/
Thank you in advance,
Paula Slier
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I applaud you for trying to expose the dark secrets of the commercial aviation industry, Paula. But the reality is most pilots are strictly prohibited from speaking to the press. Doing so can result in their termination. I wish you well in that quest to find the right individuals to expose the fact that many pilots are still out there flying tired.
I fly for a US legacy carrier. We have had our own issues of fatigue, however after a series of fatal accidents, and after demanding change for more than 30 years, the US regulators finally agreed to derive a science-based solution to fatigue mitigation. While not perfect, it's a step in the right direction. And it is aggressively enforced by US airline pilot unions. In short, if a pilot reports fatigue he is untouchable. That is, he will not lose pay and cannot be terminated. Not even the CEO can get involved.
By contrast, many of the middle eastern and Indian carriers don't have such a robust safety program. While the Indian carriers at least have pilot unions to protect the aviator from aggressive corporate management, in the case of a fatigue call, the pilots of the ME3 do not have such protections. Many fly tired as a result (I also suspect many Chinese carriers are this way but I have never flown for a carrier there so I don't know for certain. I have flown for Indian and ME carriers in the past though).
There has been a lot of press regarding the unfair advantage of the ME3 vs Western carriers. Most of that media coverage surrounds the fact that Western governments use taxpayer money to provide low interest loans to the ME3 carriers for aircraft procurement, while said middle eastern carriers enjoy state sponsorship for their enterprise. And while that is certainly a newsworthy topic, the real unfair advantage the ME3 have is their lack of adherence to modern safety standards regarding human factors. The use of indentured servitude contracts for air crews as well as Machiavelian management of said crews does indeed influence cockpit safety. This no doubt has an effect on whether a flight deck crewmemeber will feel obliged to call in fatigue or sick for a particular flight when he or she knows they need to in order to assure the safe operation of the flight. In the West, crewmembers follow a strict procedure and protocol for such an event. This forces airlines to staff the operation accordingly to account for a last minute fatigue call. Not so with the ME3 or some Asian carriers.
Prior to every departure, we are required to report fit for duty to our operations center. We take the report very seriously and 99.9% of the time we report fit, else why would we have even shown up for work. But sometimes a pilot feels sick, exhausted or some issues that will render him or her unfit for duty. We generally refer to that as a fatigue call. If I report fatigue for a particular flight I do so with professionalism and take into account the massive disruption it could cause my passengers and our operation. So it's not something done often or taken lightly. However, I think we can all agree that not one of those passengers would want me falling asleep on the approach and landing phase of the flight. So while it could be disruptive to their plans, pretty much everyone agrees safety is paramount. When I do report fatigue I am confident that I will not be financially punished for it nor will I face any discipline from my superiors. And the crew schedulers are well-trained in how to plan for such a scenario. They have a number of tools at their disposal to find a pilot to take over the flight, including available pilots in a ready reserve pool and pilots who show up on their computer screens as willing to volunteer for so-called "double-pay trips". As a result of a properly structured and planned system, most times the schedulers resolve a fatigue call with minimal to no delay. This is because we have collaboratively created this system as an industry. The pilot unions, the regulators and the company worked together to derive a mostly seamless fatigue risk mitigation system where a pilot removes himself from the dangerous proposition of flying tired yet the flying public never even knows what occurred. There is an inherent cost associated with this, additional manpower for one, but the result is a safer airline industry overall. I can honestly say it is for these reasons that I feel more confident as a passenger on a Western carrier vs that of other regions. Now I say that realizing that this will upset many pilots at other carriers but I can assure you they know what I'm referring to.
It's high time for the ME3 to be held to the same rigid rest standards that pilots in the West are held to. The flying public at least deserves a well-rested and situationally aware pilot at the controls. Competition is great. I welcome it. But just like Olympians are prohibited from using performance-enhancing drugs. All carriers should be held to the same standards with respect to pilot rest, fatigue, and whether that aviator is truly fit for flight.
Flying fatigued is equivalent to flying drunk. This is a fact.
I fly for a US legacy carrier. We have had our own issues of fatigue, however after a series of fatal accidents, and after demanding change for more than 30 years, the US regulators finally agreed to derive a science-based solution to fatigue mitigation. While not perfect, it's a step in the right direction. And it is aggressively enforced by US airline pilot unions. In short, if a pilot reports fatigue he is untouchable. That is, he will not lose pay and cannot be terminated. Not even the CEO can get involved.
By contrast, many of the middle eastern and Indian carriers don't have such a robust safety program. While the Indian carriers at least have pilot unions to protect the aviator from aggressive corporate management, in the case of a fatigue call, the pilots of the ME3 do not have such protections. Many fly tired as a result (I also suspect many Chinese carriers are this way but I have never flown for a carrier there so I don't know for certain. I have flown for Indian and ME carriers in the past though).
There has been a lot of press regarding the unfair advantage of the ME3 vs Western carriers. Most of that media coverage surrounds the fact that Western governments use taxpayer money to provide low interest loans to the ME3 carriers for aircraft procurement, while said middle eastern carriers enjoy state sponsorship for their enterprise. And while that is certainly a newsworthy topic, the real unfair advantage the ME3 have is their lack of adherence to modern safety standards regarding human factors. The use of indentured servitude contracts for air crews as well as Machiavelian management of said crews does indeed influence cockpit safety. This no doubt has an effect on whether a flight deck crewmemeber will feel obliged to call in fatigue or sick for a particular flight when he or she knows they need to in order to assure the safe operation of the flight. In the West, crewmembers follow a strict procedure and protocol for such an event. This forces airlines to staff the operation accordingly to account for a last minute fatigue call. Not so with the ME3 or some Asian carriers.
Prior to every departure, we are required to report fit for duty to our operations center. We take the report very seriously and 99.9% of the time we report fit, else why would we have even shown up for work. But sometimes a pilot feels sick, exhausted or some issues that will render him or her unfit for duty. We generally refer to that as a fatigue call. If I report fatigue for a particular flight I do so with professionalism and take into account the massive disruption it could cause my passengers and our operation. So it's not something done often or taken lightly. However, I think we can all agree that not one of those passengers would want me falling asleep on the approach and landing phase of the flight. So while it could be disruptive to their plans, pretty much everyone agrees safety is paramount. When I do report fatigue I am confident that I will not be financially punished for it nor will I face any discipline from my superiors. And the crew schedulers are well-trained in how to plan for such a scenario. They have a number of tools at their disposal to find a pilot to take over the flight, including available pilots in a ready reserve pool and pilots who show up on their computer screens as willing to volunteer for so-called "double-pay trips". As a result of a properly structured and planned system, most times the schedulers resolve a fatigue call with minimal to no delay. This is because we have collaboratively created this system as an industry. The pilot unions, the regulators and the company worked together to derive a mostly seamless fatigue risk mitigation system where a pilot removes himself from the dangerous proposition of flying tired yet the flying public never even knows what occurred. There is an inherent cost associated with this, additional manpower for one, but the result is a safer airline industry overall. I can honestly say it is for these reasons that I feel more confident as a passenger on a Western carrier vs that of other regions. Now I say that realizing that this will upset many pilots at other carriers but I can assure you they know what I'm referring to.
It's high time for the ME3 to be held to the same rigid rest standards that pilots in the West are held to. The flying public at least deserves a well-rested and situationally aware pilot at the controls. Competition is great. I welcome it. But just like Olympians are prohibited from using performance-enhancing drugs. All carriers should be held to the same standards with respect to pilot rest, fatigue, and whether that aviator is truly fit for flight.
Flying fatigued is equivalent to flying drunk. This is a fact.
Last edited by Geebz; 17th Sep 2016 at 01:22.
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Bravo. Incredibly accurate and concise post regarding fatigue and what the real advantage the ME3 share over Western airlines.....complete and utter abuse of their employees and paying lip service to safety in so much as it serves a PR machine but nothing more than that.
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Not so Simple
Unfortunately, I think the issue is over-simplified into x is better than y, or y country is better than z.
The fatigue issue has become corrupted by self-interest, both of pilots and airline management. Things might have swung in the right direction in the US for some carriers, but it is only a recent change based on costly lessons from crashes such as Colgan Air and UPS. If you read between the lines fatigue should have been the primary contributing factor. Unfortunately in Europe things are moving the other way. Lobbying by airlines has greatly reduced the margins that used to exist.
CAP-371 was firmly based on scientific studies by Qinetiq. EASA now leaves us with a compromise that is to be reviewed based on reports over the course of 2 years. Add to this a lot of self interest. For example, does the commuting culture contribute to fatigue? As is common in the US and with LOCO’s in Europe. Would someone who just positioned in at the last minute for personal reasons be less likely to call fatigued?
Also due to the static pay and increase in productivity since the year 2000, flight crews are now pushed to breaking point. You are either left with your life completely revolving around your job, or feeling fatigued. Of course there are some exceptions such as certain flag carriers, but these are few and far between.
The other difficulty with fatigue is properly diagnosing it. For other issues such as Alcohol we can easily set rules to say that someone can only drink so and so much before a flight, but to tangibly measure fatigue is elusive. It is insidious and creeping. Small things such as lack of short term memory, lack of focus and concentration, and missing small things are the first signs to show. However the company will just say, it is within the FTL scheme to it is legal.
There is a long way to go everywhere with regard to putting fatigue into check, everywhere in the world.
The fatigue issue has become corrupted by self-interest, both of pilots and airline management. Things might have swung in the right direction in the US for some carriers, but it is only a recent change based on costly lessons from crashes such as Colgan Air and UPS. If you read between the lines fatigue should have been the primary contributing factor. Unfortunately in Europe things are moving the other way. Lobbying by airlines has greatly reduced the margins that used to exist.
CAP-371 was firmly based on scientific studies by Qinetiq. EASA now leaves us with a compromise that is to be reviewed based on reports over the course of 2 years. Add to this a lot of self interest. For example, does the commuting culture contribute to fatigue? As is common in the US and with LOCO’s in Europe. Would someone who just positioned in at the last minute for personal reasons be less likely to call fatigued?
Also due to the static pay and increase in productivity since the year 2000, flight crews are now pushed to breaking point. You are either left with your life completely revolving around your job, or feeling fatigued. Of course there are some exceptions such as certain flag carriers, but these are few and far between.
The other difficulty with fatigue is properly diagnosing it. For other issues such as Alcohol we can easily set rules to say that someone can only drink so and so much before a flight, but to tangibly measure fatigue is elusive. It is insidious and creeping. Small things such as lack of short term memory, lack of focus and concentration, and missing small things are the first signs to show. However the company will just say, it is within the FTL scheme to it is legal.
There is a long way to go everywhere with regard to putting fatigue into check, everywhere in the world.
