Sure, it's easy to say he should have got some rest in his 24 hours off, but that's very hard when your body is saying it's not time to sleep. And he could have called in and told crewing that he wasn't rested enough to fly. But many long haul pilots get to this level of fatigue and if this was done then the majority of long haul flights would be cancelled.
So true, especially the last bit. Until you've done 800-900hrs a year of LH flying, it is difficult to believe that this might be the case.
I think you get used to running at 80% and make allowances in the way you operate. I get asked a lot, as I'm a LH pilot, 'What's the secret of overcoming tiredness and jet lag?' and I say, 'There isn't one: you just know how you'll be feeling in advance and make allowances for it.' A bit like a hangover isn't a great surprise after you've been drunk more than a few times. Of course this includes all the things like exercise, good diet and (attempted) rest but as diurnal mammals we are just not built to function well during our personal 'night'.
I remember when I flew SH, reading the company incidents digest and being amazed at some of the things that went on in LH. Now, having got the t-shirt, I'm amazed that there are so few...
And as for those comments/suggestions to go 'crew fatigue' - it's the job, you have to find a way to cope, often by catching a half hour of controlled rest at a quiet time in the cruise in the seat, and yes, tell your oppo that you feel like death warmed up and take things slowly.
If things go wrong then the adrenalin rush will kick in and your alertness will increase immediately.
In the MEL case, it seems to me that a lack of rigour in the checking process possibly due to defficient SOP's and a possible lack of mental modelling for the take off let them down.
My thoughts as well.
The cumulative effects of duties like this should not be underestimated when it comes to functioning well on the flight deck. However, the more enlightened airlines recognise this to some extent and put in place SOPs to prevent the kind of error that appears to have been made here. If those SOPs are not adhered to, then the crew are on thin ice when it comes to any subsequent incident.
I agree with that too. Although, it has to be said, some SOPs are easier to follow than others. However, if you start missing lots of checks at the
beginning of a flight, someone else should really point this out...