NTSB said that even though the pilots had not been working long that day, they were clearly fatigued. They cited the pilots' work schedules -- the day of the incident was the third consecutive day that both pilots started duty at 5:40 a.m. -- and said the captain had an undiagnosed case of sleep apnea.
I wonder what the RYR pilots really think of their 5 earlies. Getting out of bed for 5 consective mornings at 04.00, with what might be only 5 hours sleep in a normal family house. It might be your own bed, but that brings with all the noise of normal family life. Perhaps Leo might enlighten us with his secret of how to cope with "the best roster in the industry'.
This is not a RYR bash by any means; indeed the opposite; more a wish for some realism. What is finally happening is, hopefully, a recognition of what us sharp end jockies have known for years. Sadly I will not hold my breath. The power of money, both profit and loss, is too great. Crew duty times have lengthened to match the endurance of a/c. Manufacturers design them to fly longer and longer, so for profit they have to be flown by 2 crew. All the CAA's have allowed this to happen. Only strong unions in the majors have managed some form of balance. Those of us lower down the food chain had no such buffer and the CAA's listened to the finacial argument for airline survival, not the safety warning of their own AIB's or NSTB's.