Narrative:

I work for a large regional/national carrier and currently am a reserve captain. Our current working agreement has very little in the way of work rules regarding scheduling and hours of service, and thus, we are scheduled and flown to the maximum allowed by the FARS, which we all know leaves much to be desired with the reality of our circadian rhythms. Many people think that circadian rhythms only apply to long haul international pilots. However, after a number of yrs as both a military and commercial carrier pilot I've found that everyone's body needs a routine, and radical changes can adversely affect one's performance and ability to get adequate sleep during the supposed rest period. Our airline's scheduling department operates under crisis management due to our management's 'staffing strategy,' and thus requires many reserve crew members to cover more than 1 scheduled trip in a calendar day and thus we have a large number of 'scheduled reduced rest periods' which are 8 hours, which does not include transportation local in nature, which, in reality, reduces your time at a rest facility well below 8 hours, provided you fall to sleep as soon as you arrive at the hotel. My trip/rerte from hell started as a 3 day with an 8 hour rest the first night with an early report. I happened to be coming off a couple of night trips and the early morning report had me a little out of sync. When we arrived at our next overnight station, which we were scheduled compensatory rest, I fell asleep early not being accustomed to early morning reports and thus woke very early on the the third day. Our day was scheduled to start at 0450 and end at 1358 local. When I went to chkout, crew scheduler informed me I had been rerouted and I now had additional flts with another overnight and my duty day now was going to be 15:30, legal but safe? Later, as I waited to make the last flight to the overnight station they had me do an additional 2 legs, which brought me up to 8 legs. After checking the trip on the scheduling computer, I found the scheduler had changed the trip to show a combination of actual time flown, and marketing times to make the trip legal (i.e., under 8 hours scheduled) as opposed to using the historic block times as is called for by both our operations manual and FAA poi. The remainder of the trip was much the same. The FAA needs to recognize the importance of quality crew rest and implement guidelines to prevent such scheduling practices. On the third and fourth day, I was far from being at peak performance and had there been a serious emergency the outcome may have been questionable. The FAA is mandating many items to enhance safety such as TCASII and GPWS, however, they seem to forget the most critical and complex piece of equipment on the aircraft: the pilot!

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FLC BEHAVIOR FATIGUE. ACR SCHEDULING DEPT WORK SCHEDULING, DUTY TIMES.

Narrative: I WORK FOR A LARGE REGIONAL/NATIONAL CARRIER AND CURRENTLY AM A RESERVE CAPT. OUR CURRENT WORKING AGREEMENT HAS VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF WORK RULES REGARDING SCHEDULING AND HRS OF SVC, AND THUS, WE ARE SCHEDULED AND FLOWN TO THE MAX ALLOWED BY THE FARS, WHICH WE ALL KNOW LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED WITH THE REALITY OF OUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS. MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS ONLY APPLY TO LONG HAUL INTL PLTS. HOWEVER, AFTER A NUMBER OF YRS AS BOTH A MIL AND COMMERCIAL CARRIER PLT I'VE FOUND THAT EVERYONE'S BODY NEEDS A ROUTINE, AND RADICAL CHANGES CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT ONE'S PERFORMANCE AND ABILITY TO GET ADEQUATE SLEEP DURING THE SUPPOSED REST PERIOD. OUR AIRLINE'S SCHEDULING DEPT OPERATES UNDER CRISIS MGMNT DUE TO OUR MGMNT'S 'STAFFING STRATEGY,' AND THUS REQUIRES MANY RESERVE CREW MEMBERS TO COVER MORE THAN 1 SCHEDULED TRIP IN A CALENDAR DAY AND THUS WE HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF 'SCHEDULED REDUCED REST PERIODS' WHICH ARE 8 HRS, WHICH DOES NOT INCLUDE TRANSPORTATION LCL IN NATURE, WHICH, IN REALITY, REDUCES YOUR TIME AT A REST FACILITY WELL BELOW 8 HRS, PROVIDED YOU FALL TO SLEEP AS SOON AS YOU ARRIVE AT THE HOTEL. MY TRIP/RERTE FROM HELL STARTED AS A 3 DAY WITH AN 8 HR REST THE FIRST NIGHT WITH AN EARLY RPT. I HAPPENED TO BE COMING OFF A COUPLE OF NIGHT TRIPS AND THE EARLY MORNING RPT HAD ME A LITTLE OUT OF SYNC. WHEN WE ARRIVED AT OUR NEXT OVERNIGHT STATION, WHICH WE WERE SCHEDULED COMPENSATORY REST, I FELL ASLEEP EARLY NOT BEING ACCUSTOMED TO EARLY MORNING RPTS AND THUS WOKE VERY EARLY ON THE THE THIRD DAY. OUR DAY WAS SCHEDULED TO START AT 0450 AND END AT 1358 LCL. WHEN I WENT TO CHKOUT, CREW SCHEDULER INFORMED ME I HAD BEEN REROUTED AND I NOW HAD ADDITIONAL FLTS WITH ANOTHER OVERNIGHT AND MY DUTY DAY NOW WAS GOING TO BE 15:30, LEGAL BUT SAFE? LATER, AS I WAITED TO MAKE THE LAST FLT TO THE OVERNIGHT STATION THEY HAD ME DO AN ADDITIONAL 2 LEGS, WHICH BROUGHT ME UP TO 8 LEGS. AFTER CHKING THE TRIP ON THE SCHEDULING COMPUTER, I FOUND THE SCHEDULER HAD CHANGED THE TRIP TO SHOW A COMBINATION OF ACTUAL TIME FLOWN, AND MARKETING TIMES TO MAKE THE TRIP LEGAL (I.E., UNDER 8 HRS SCHEDULED) AS OPPOSED TO USING THE HISTORIC BLOCK TIMES AS IS CALLED FOR BY BOTH OUR OPS MANUAL AND FAA POI. THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIP WAS MUCH THE SAME. THE FAA NEEDS TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY CREW REST AND IMPLEMENT GUIDELINES TO PREVENT SUCH SCHEDULING PRACTICES. ON THE THIRD AND FOURTH DAY, I WAS FAR FROM BEING AT PEAK PERFORMANCE AND HAD THERE BEEN A SERIOUS EMER THE OUTCOME MAY HAVE BEEN QUESTIONABLE. THE FAA IS MANDATING MANY ITEMS TO ENHANCE SAFETY SUCH AS TCASII AND GPWS, HOWEVER, THEY SEEM TO FORGET THE MOST CRITICAL AND COMPLEX PIECE OF EQUIP ON THE ACFT: THE PLT!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.