Issues in Commuting and Pilot Fatigue Interim Report (2011) / Chapter Skim
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Regulatory change has received the least attention, with no changes to relevant regulations since 1985 despite a significantly expanded research base on sleep, fatigue, and circadian rhythms. 1 Concern about the potential contribution to fatigue from time spent commuting to a duty station was elevated following a fatal Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, New York, February 12, 2009.
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, including pilot check-in requirements and sick leave and fatigue policies; • postconference materials from the Federal Aviation Administration's June 2008 symposium titled "Aviation Fatigue Management Symposium: Partnerships for Solutions"; • Federal Aviation Administration and international policies and guidance regarding commuting; and • to the extent possible, airline and pilot commuting practices. Based on this review, the committee will: • define "commuting" in the context of pilot alertness and fatigue; • discuss the relationship between the available science on alertness, fatigue, sleep and circadian rhythms, cognitive and physiological performance, and safety; • discuss the policy, economic, and regulatory issues that affect pilot commuting; 2 • discuss the commuting policies of commercial air carriers and to the extent possible, identify practices that are supported by the available research; and • outline potential next steps, including to the extent possible, recommendations for regulatory or administrative actions, or further research, by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
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• International Federation of Airline Pilots Association Airline Associations • Air Transport Association • Cargo Airline Association • Federal Express • National Air Carrier Association • National Business Aviation Association • National Air Transport Association • Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association • Regional Airline Association • UPS Airlines Groups That Represent Passenger Interests • Air Travelers Association • Flight Safety Foundation In addition, the request for input was posted on the project website, 5 http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bbcss/public_form_invitation.doc.
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whether, and if so how, the commuting policies and/or practices of commercial air carriers (including passenger and all-cargo air carriers) , including pilot check-in requirements and sick leave and fatigue policies, ensure that pilots are fit to fly and maximize public safety; (E)
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. The committee also is assessing information from the following sources: • a review of NTSB reports on aviation accidents to identify available information related to the contribution of commuting to flight crew fatigue; • a review of confidential reports mentioning commuting and/or fatigue submitted to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS)
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3 The only published information appears to be data included in the NTSB report following the Colgan Air crash, which reported that 68% of the Colgan pilots based at Newark were commuting, with the commutes being various distances (NTSB, 2010; pp.
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From page 9... ...
Input to date, however, suggests that commuting more than 2 hours is not uncommon among pilots. 5 AVIATION INDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICS THAT IMPACT COMMUTING Characteristics of the aviation industry that influence pilot commuting include airline crew scheduling practices; airline route network and crew basing practices; and airline competitive and passenger demand factors that can cause pilot staffing requirements to change over time.
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Airline Route Networks and Crew Basing The point from which a pilot begins duty (at his or her base of operations, or domicile) is influenced by airline management practices that vary within the industry.
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Airline Policies and Practices Related to Commuting Various airline policies and practices may facilitate or hinder commuting and affect pilots' decisions regarding commuting. These include policies related to the consequences of failing to report to the domicile on time because of commuting, as well as those related to sick 11
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From page 12... ...
Extensive scientific evidence documents the multiple negative effects of fatigue on performance for tasks that are similar to those required to operate a commercial aircraft. These include adverse effects from fatigue on alertness and vigilant attention, on the speed and accuracy of performing tasks, on working memory, and on higher cognitive functions such as decision-making.
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From page 13... ...
Circadian rhythms are daily rhythms in physiology and behavior that control the timing of the sleep/wake cycle and influence physical and cognitive performance, activity, food consumption, body temperature, heart rate, muscle tone, and some aspects of hormone secretion. When an individual remains awake into his or her habitual nocturnal sleep period, acute sleep loss (time awake extending beyond 16-18 hours)
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In addition to acute sleep deprivation, fatigue can be exacerbated by chronic partial sleep loss, also known as cumulative sleep debt, which occurs when the sleep obtained over multiple days is too short in duration to maintain behavioral alertness during the daytime (Van Dongen et al., 2003b)
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From page 15... ...
There are also mathematical models that demonstrate limited ability to predict fatigue using information on duty time and scheduling, sleep quantity and quality, circadian and time-zone information, and other variables. There have been steady advances in various fatigue management technologies, including devices that monitor an operator's level of alertness or performance, as well as devices that predict fatigue in advance of a work cycle or trip (Balkin et al., 2011)
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From page 16... ...
111-216 (the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010) , the FAA's current proposed regulation related to flight and duty time attempts to take advantage of the available research on fatigue, sleep, and circadian rhythms and, among other things, to consider the effects of commuting, means of commuting, and the length of the commute on fitness for duty.
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From page 17... ...
, International Air Transport Association, Flight Safety Foundation, and International Federation of Airline Pilots' Association to obtain information regarding existing regulations, policies, and best practices regarding commuting outside the United States. In addition to regulatory approaches to fatigue, new developments both in the science of fatigue and performance and in management and regulatory philosophies have led to another approach in the transportation domain, usually termed fatigue risk management systems.
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From page 18... ...
Airline policies and practices, characteristics of the aviation system, and individual pilot behavior all play a role in pilot fatigue. It seems to the committee that it is important to note that safety in scheduled air transportation has continued to improve over time, to the point where catastrophic, fatal accidents in such operations are statistically rare events.
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