After too many accidents caused by sleepy / sleeping drivers, driving hours in the long-haul trucking industry are now (at least partially) monitored via cameras on overhead gantries and in-truck recorders. Not as simple for the airlines, but it may come to this.
actually a
real solution would be a series of cognitive tests administered by the computer: perhaps a pre-flight checklist presented to the pilot(s) (which has some subtle errors) and an eye-tracking video game like test.
next a breathalyzer and saliva test for cortisol (stress hormone)
- The airlines wont go for this, not because of the cost, but because they benefit from the overbooking and the over scheduling. Most flights are uneventful and for those that
are "eventful" the error rarely rises to that of a reportable incident.
besides, the recorders are useful AFTER the fact, not before. The CVR in this case showed only how unprofessional. overworked and under-skilled these particular pilots were (not to mention underpaid) I still cant believe they were making less that a customer service manager at Walmart*
*not to say that Walmart doesnt have excellent customer service