RAT 5 - totally right
Let me just add my five cents, from where I live/fly for the last decade, far out from home, with many legal but minimum rest and night duty periods.
1. Legislators/politicians/airline managers on BOTH sides of the pond simply MUST act.
It is not possible/sustainable in the long run to operate 11 (or more) hours for 11 hours rest - irrespective of time of day/night and expect us to stay alert/fit throughout. Check any truck driver duty time limits and you will know what I am talking about! In most places, they MUST rest after 8 hours of driving.
Even the cashier in the supermarket does have more rest then us! Traveling public is kept in the dark and the more vocal we are, sooner we will have our just requirement to have a life entertained.
2. Scientific study results done last year in Europe found clearly:
- NO 14 hours duty for 2 pilots crew, max should be 12 instead;
- NO 12 hours night duty - 10 hrs instead;
- max weekly duty time to be reduced. I think, again, that the traveling public has no clue we can be pushed all the way to 55, or 58 hours!
Well, let's hope the move by FAA will reflect these findings, and long overdue discussion in european parliament will follow and endorse these changes to reduce max duty time and force JAA to implement it.
Pilots - both individually and thru our bodies - we have to be vocal now, if we want majority of us to fly until retirement, rather then succumb to illness and fatigue mid-way
