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A pilot reports that his air carrier's continuous duty trips do not allow sufficient rest between trips: 14 hour night duty; 10 hour daylight rest.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 687823 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200602 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : dtw.airport |
| State Reference | TX |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| ASRS Report | 687823 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : unable |
| Consequence | other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Company Flight Crew Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | Company |
Narrative:
The reporter's objective by submission of the report is a possible precursor of any future incidents or accidents that could be attributed to fatigue during operation of continuous duty overnight flts during the window of circadian low. For the month of march the following city pairs operate continuous duty overnight flts: on feb/thu-fri/06 I operated sequence twice. This report time for the trip was at 1755 ZZZ1 local time with a scheduled release time of 0755 am in ZZZ1. Total scheduled duty time for the trip was 14 hours of continuous duty. An intervening rest period; from 0755 am to 1755 pm totaling 10 hours between each sequence was scheduled. Physical symptoms of fatigue that I experienced from operating 2 cdo's included: 1) extreme drowsiness in the cockpit; 2) a feeling of my body aching/muscle weakness; 3) lack of energy; and 4) lack of mental clarity. To be brief; the 14 hours of duty time was too long to stay awake the entire night and the 10 hour intervening rest period was too short of a recovery period. This is why air carrier should cease both legal and safe; or look at the issue from a scientific viewpoint; and follow the recommendations from the attached NASA report titled; 'principles and guidelines for duty and rest scheduling in commercial aviation.'
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PLT RPTS THAT HIS ACR'S CONTINUOUS DUTY TRIPS DO NOT ALLOW SUFFICIENT REST BTWN TRIPS: 14 HR NIGHT DUTY; 10 HR DAYLIGHT REST.
Narrative: THE RPTR'S OBJECTIVE BY SUBMISSION OF THE RPT IS A POSSIBLE PRECURSOR OF ANY FUTURE INCIDENTS OR ACCIDENTS THAT COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO FATIGUE DURING OP OF CONTINUOUS DUTY OVERNIGHT FLTS DURING THE WINDOW OF CIRCADIAN LOW. FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH THE FOLLOWING CITY PAIRS OPERATE CONTINUOUS DUTY OVERNIGHT FLTS: ON FEB/THU-FRI/06 I OPERATED SEQUENCE TWICE. THIS RPT TIME FOR THE TRIP WAS AT 1755 ZZZ1 LCL TIME WITH A SCHEDULED RELEASE TIME OF 0755 AM IN ZZZ1. TOTAL SCHEDULED DUTY TIME FOR THE TRIP WAS 14 HRS OF CONTINUOUS DUTY. AN INTERVENING REST PERIOD; FROM 0755 AM TO 1755 PM TOTALING 10 HRS BTWN EACH SEQUENCE WAS SCHEDULED. PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS OF FATIGUE THAT I EXPERIENCED FROM OPERATING 2 CDO'S INCLUDED: 1) EXTREME DROWSINESS IN THE COCKPIT; 2) A FEELING OF MY BODY ACHING/MUSCLE WEAKNESS; 3) LACK OF ENERGY; AND 4) LACK OF MENTAL CLARITY. TO BE BRIEF; THE 14 HRS OF DUTY TIME WAS TOO LONG TO STAY AWAKE THE ENTIRE NIGHT AND THE 10 HR INTERVENING REST PERIOD WAS TOO SHORT OF A RECOVERY PERIOD. THIS IS WHY ACR SHOULD CEASE BOTH LEGAL AND SAFE; OR LOOK AT THE ISSUE FROM A SCIENTIFIC VIEWPOINT; AND FOLLOW THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ATTACHED NASA RPT TITLED; 'PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR DUTY AND REST SCHEDULING IN COMMERCIAL AVIATION.'
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.