B757-200 flight attendant assigned a 13 hour 56 min duty day, flying all night to caribbean destinat...

Narrative:

I am writing this report about what I feel was, and still is a serious safety concern. In hindsight, I wish that I hadn't taken this particular flight. My copilot and I were flying ZZZ to ZZZZ on jan/mon/04, and returning the same day on flight XXXX from ZZZZ. Our flight was an originating flight that departed at XA15. While waiting for the flight attendants, I went to check the computer. I noticed that they had not yet signed in. I asked the agent about this. He informed me that, 'they were hung up in immigration.' I couldn't believe that we had flts that early, but then he told me the story. The flight attendants were coming from mroc. They had been up all night, starting at XA10 the night before. And now they were going to do another ZZZZ turn. The flight attendants finally arrived, late. I asked them how they felt. They said that they were exhausted and had tried to call in fatigued. Their supervisor then threatened their jobs. They were told that they would get a 'missed trip' if they didn't fly. For a flight attendant, this can be career threatening. I had a serious safety concern about all of this and wanted to remove them from the trip. They asked me not to as this would put their jobs in jeopardy. All 4 assured me that they could safely complete the trip, so we went ahead. We flew to ZZZZ. Upon deplaning, a few passenger commented how fatigued the flight attendants seemed and that they couldn't believe that our airlines would treat its employees so bad. We had about 1 hour and 20 mins on the ground in ZZZZ. The flight attendants did sleep during that time and in the interest of safety, I delayed boarding so that they could get more sleep. We then went back to ZZZ. Once again, several passenger commented how obviously fatigued the flight attendants were. One even commented that, 'he didn't appreciate our airlines not taking his family's safety seriously.' that hit home. In retrospect, I wish that I hadn't taken the flight, but I was worried, about retaliations against the flight attendants' jobs by their supervisor. While typically legal, this is not safe. When an employee says that he or she is fatigued, that should be it. That is especially true for a safety sensitive employee such as a crew member. Having one's job threatened is not a reason to compromise safety.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757-200 FLT ATTENDANT ASSIGNED A 13 HR 56 MIN DUTY DAY, FLYING ALL NIGHT TO CARIBBEAN DESTS. THE FLT ATTENDANTS WERE FATIGUED TO THE EXTREME.

Narrative: I AM WRITING THIS RPT ABOUT WHAT I FEEL WAS, AND STILL IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. IN HINDSIGHT, I WISH THAT I HADN'T TAKEN THIS PARTICULAR FLT. MY COPLT AND I WERE FLYING ZZZ TO ZZZZ ON JAN/MON/04, AND RETURNING THE SAME DAY ON FLT XXXX FROM ZZZZ. OUR FLT WAS AN ORIGINATING FLT THAT DEPARTED AT XA15. WHILE WAITING FOR THE FLT ATTENDANTS, I WENT TO CHK THE COMPUTER. I NOTICED THAT THEY HAD NOT YET SIGNED IN. I ASKED THE AGENT ABOUT THIS. HE INFORMED ME THAT, 'THEY WERE HUNG UP IN IMMIGRATION.' I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAD FLTS THAT EARLY, BUT THEN HE TOLD ME THE STORY. THE FLT ATTENDANTS WERE COMING FROM MROC. THEY HAD BEEN UP ALL NIGHT, STARTING AT XA10 THE NIGHT BEFORE. AND NOW THEY WERE GOING TO DO ANOTHER ZZZZ TURN. THE FLT ATTENDANTS FINALLY ARRIVED, LATE. I ASKED THEM HOW THEY FELT. THEY SAID THAT THEY WERE EXHAUSTED AND HAD TRIED TO CALL IN FATIGUED. THEIR SUPVR THEN THREATENED THEIR JOBS. THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY WOULD GET A 'MISSED TRIP' IF THEY DIDN'T FLY. FOR A FLT ATTENDANT, THIS CAN BE CAREER THREATENING. I HAD A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN ABOUT ALL OF THIS AND WANTED TO REMOVE THEM FROM THE TRIP. THEY ASKED ME NOT TO AS THIS WOULD PUT THEIR JOBS IN JEOPARDY. ALL 4 ASSURED ME THAT THEY COULD SAFELY COMPLETE THE TRIP, SO WE WENT AHEAD. WE FLEW TO ZZZZ. UPON DEPLANING, A FEW PAX COMMENTED HOW FATIGUED THE FLT ATTENDANTS SEEMED AND THAT THEY COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT OUR AIRLINES WOULD TREAT ITS EMPLOYEES SO BAD. WE HAD ABOUT 1 HR AND 20 MINS ON THE GND IN ZZZZ. THE FLT ATTENDANTS DID SLEEP DURING THAT TIME AND IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY, I DELAYED BOARDING SO THAT THEY COULD GET MORE SLEEP. WE THEN WENT BACK TO ZZZ. ONCE AGAIN, SEVERAL PAX COMMENTED HOW OBVIOUSLY FATIGUED THE FLT ATTENDANTS WERE. ONE EVEN COMMENTED THAT, 'HE DIDN'T APPRECIATE OUR AIRLINES NOT TAKING HIS FAMILY'S SAFETY SERIOUSLY.' THAT HIT HOME. IN RETROSPECT, I WISH THAT I HADN'T TAKEN THE FLT, BUT I WAS WORRIED, ABOUT RETALIATIONS AGAINST THE FLT ATTENDANTS' JOBS BY THEIR SUPVR. WHILE TYPICALLY LEGAL, THIS IS NOT SAFE. WHEN AN EMPLOYEE SAYS THAT HE OR SHE IS FATIGUED, THAT SHOULD BE IT. THAT IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR A SAFETY SENSITIVE EMPLOYEE SUCH AS A CREW MEMBER. HAVING ONE'S JOB THREATENED IS NOT A REASON TO COMPROMISE SAFETY.

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.

Attributes
ACN	604263
Time
Date	200401
Day	Mon
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
ASRS Report	604263
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa other other : 3
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Consequence	other
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Company Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Company

B757-200 flight attendant assigned a 13 hour 56 min duty day, flying all night to caribbean destinations. The flight attendants were fatigued to the extreme.