Do pilots get enough sleep?
In confidential safety memos, pilots recount fatigue-related incidents.
from the January 15, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 3
Now, pilots at carriers like JetBlue fly the FAA's 100-hour monthly maximum. At United, the maximum flying hours are between 89 and 95 a month, depending on the kind of plane the pilot flies.
"Right now, airlines are placing money, productivity – how much work can you get out of a pilot – ahead of safety and having well-rested, nonfatigued pilots at the controls of your airplane," says Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association.
The airlines deny that. Speaking only on background, they also say the pilots are only raising the fatigue issue as a negotiating tactic for upcoming contract negotiations, now that the airlines are again profitable.
"This is an opportunity for unions to do what they've done for years to negotiate for more money," says an industry insider who asked that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the situation with pilots. "If you look at the trends, they always bring up fatigue when contracts are open for negotiations."
The pilots deny that. They counter that the FAA tried to revise the sleep and rest regulations from the mid-1990s to 2001. That was not done, according to Ms. Duquette of the FAA, because it couldn't reach an agreement that was acceptable to the airlines and the unions.
"While FAA's past efforts to change the regulations met resistance, the agency is confident that the rules provide for a safe aviation system," she says. "But given the changes in the industry, and some types of flights, particularly the ultra-long-range ones, we have given the airlines some flexibility with how they schedule their crews as long as they can present data [that show it won't increase any safety risks.]"
That does not satisfy the NTSB, which wants the FAA's flight-duty rules brought into line with today's science and more-intense flying environment.
"We just want to keep the pressure on," says Captain Sumwalt. "We're not really interested in why it's not being done. We just want it to be done."
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