It will be interesting to hear what changes will be implemented both within the RAF and to civilian airlines following this accident regarding what behaviors are acceptable in the cockpit/flightdeck.
What I mean is, how do pilots ward off boredom and low arousal levels when doing a boring and under-arousing job, particularly for the long hours in the long-haul cruise environment?
Obviously there are house-keeping jobs to complete in the cruise, such as waypoint activity, fuel checks, aircraft systems checks. There is the general situational awareness of where we are going, who are we talking to, what is coming up next. And there is the emergency awareness to update and 'what ifs" of what would we do with an engine failure, a fire, a passenger medical emergency. Can we drift down, what's the MSA for a depressurisation etc...and the list goes on...
But this can all be done and discussed in the first hour of the cruise, and updated as the situation changes or periodically; perhaps at the next FIR boundary, or at the next waypoint. But what happens when there are no changes over the ocean at night and waypoints are more than 45 mins apart? It is well established that humans are exceptionally bad at monitoring things when very little is changing except perhaps the distance-to-go and the fuel slowly ticking down on a long journey. It can be like watching paint dry.
What is the best way to keep awake and active in a very boring environment? What are the acceptable ways of maintaining an active mind, and thus minimizing the 'startle' response when things go wrong?
I would suggest that taking a break and leaving the cockpit for a cup of tea, as the copilot did, is an excellent way to get the blood flowing again and revitalize himself.
But I would also suggest that reading the paper, or a book, or an e-reader might also be a good diversion for a few minutes at a time. Perhaps checking the aircraft screens at the end of every news article, or when turning the page, might also be a good idea. Indeed engaging your mind with a little star gazing and in-flight photography, as the voyager captain was doing, might also be fully acceptable. Just be careful where you put down your book, paper, camera or mug of tea!
And does the situation and range of acceptable activities change when the other pilot is absent? Would it be unacceptable to do anything other than stare at the aircraft's displays if your fellow pilot was taking a physiologically required break. Or what if your airline's rules allowed the other pilot to take a short sleep in the seat?
Do you think there will be new restrictions to limit how pilots stay awake, and keep mentally active, alert and ready to deal with unforeseen situations?