Narrative:

Last night I called the crew desk to remove myself from my next flight; a 3-DAY trip to london. I had become fatigued to the point that I would have been unsafe to fly this trip. My fatigue was a result of the cumulative effect of my work week leading up to this trip. My assigned scheduled over this period; including the scheduled trip to london; required 10 days of work over a 10 day period. The 10 days consisted of a 4-DAY trip to buenos aires (eze); a 3-DAY trip to zurich (zrh) and a 3-DAY trip to london (lhr). All of these trips required flying during my normal sleep cycle. By my count; over the 7 days as I completed the trips to eze and zrh; my sleep opportunities included the possibilities for 9 naps and 4 full nights of sleep. Unfortunately; these opportunities did not result in quality sleep. Naps include 1-3 hour chances to sleep- at times outside my normal body rhythm. These included 4 rest breaks on flts to and from eze and zrh. These naps help for the short term but are not restful sleep. Often these naps do not last the entire period of the rest break. I am unable to go to sleep right away. Also; my naps on the airplane are often interrupted by noisy passenger; flight attendants; or safety announcements. The 5 other naps were at hotels (3) and at home (2). These naps are usually more restful but are at odd times of the day. The 4 opportunities to obtain a full night's sleep occurred over a 7 night period. However; as a result of flying during circadian lows and interrupting normal sleep cycles these rest opportunities became diminished in quality. Often these full nights of sleep became 2 or 3 shorter periods of sleep over an 8-10 hour time frame. By my calculation over the 7 days I had a total of about 42 hours of sleep. Of those 42 hours; only about 16 hours were truly restful sleep. That compares to a normal week which would have been about 56 hours of sleep during my normal circadian cycle. As a result of becoming sleep deprived; I noticed myself becoming more irritable; less focused; and making more mistakes. The night prior to the scheduled all-night flight to lhr; I was unable to get a restful sleep. It became obvious that I would be unfit to fly. I called the crew desk and removed myself from the flight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B767-300 FO REPORTED CALLING IN FATIGUED AFTER FLYING 10 DAYS IN A ROW IN INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS TO SOUTH AMERICA AND EUROPE.

Narrative: LAST NIGHT I CALLED THE CREW DESK TO REMOVE MYSELF FROM MY NEXT FLT; A 3-DAY TRIP TO LONDON. I HAD BECOME FATIGUED TO THE POINT THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN UNSAFE TO FLY THIS TRIP. MY FATIGUE WAS A RESULT OF THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF MY WORK WK LEADING UP TO THIS TRIP. MY ASSIGNED SCHEDULED OVER THIS PERIOD; INCLUDING THE SCHEDULED TRIP TO LONDON; REQUIRED 10 DAYS OF WORK OVER A 10 DAY PERIOD. THE 10 DAYS CONSISTED OF A 4-DAY TRIP TO BUENOS AIRES (EZE); A 3-DAY TRIP TO ZURICH (ZRH) AND A 3-DAY TRIP TO LONDON (LHR). ALL OF THESE TRIPS REQUIRED FLYING DURING MY NORMAL SLEEP CYCLE. BY MY COUNT; OVER THE 7 DAYS AS I COMPLETED THE TRIPS TO EZE AND ZRH; MY SLEEP OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDED THE POSSIBILITIES FOR 9 NAPS AND 4 FULL NIGHTS OF SLEEP. UNFORTUNATELY; THESE OPPORTUNITIES DID NOT RESULT IN QUALITY SLEEP. NAPS INCLUDE 1-3 HR CHANCES TO SLEEP- AT TIMES OUTSIDE MY NORMAL BODY RHYTHM. THESE INCLUDED 4 REST BREAKS ON FLTS TO AND FROM EZE AND ZRH. THESE NAPS HELP FOR THE SHORT TERM BUT ARE NOT RESTFUL SLEEP. OFTEN THESE NAPS DO NOT LAST THE ENTIRE PERIOD OF THE REST BREAK. I AM UNABLE TO GO TO SLEEP RIGHT AWAY. ALSO; MY NAPS ON THE AIRPLANE ARE OFTEN INTERRUPTED BY NOISY PAX; FLT ATTENDANTS; OR SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENTS. THE 5 OTHER NAPS WERE AT HOTELS (3) AND AT HOME (2). THESE NAPS ARE USUALLY MORE RESTFUL BUT ARE AT ODD TIMES OF THE DAY. THE 4 OPPORTUNITIES TO OBTAIN A FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP OCCURRED OVER A 7 NIGHT PERIOD. HOWEVER; AS A RESULT OF FLYING DURING CIRCADIAN LOWS AND INTERRUPTING NORMAL SLEEP CYCLES THESE REST OPPORTUNITIES BECAME DIMINISHED IN QUALITY. OFTEN THESE FULL NIGHTS OF SLEEP BECAME 2 OR 3 SHORTER PERIODS OF SLEEP OVER AN 8-10 HR TIME FRAME. BY MY CALCULATION OVER THE 7 DAYS I HAD A TOTAL OF ABOUT 42 HRS OF SLEEP. OF THOSE 42 HRS; ONLY ABOUT 16 HRS WERE TRULY RESTFUL SLEEP. THAT COMPARES TO A NORMAL WK WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT 56 HRS OF SLEEP DURING MY NORMAL CIRCADIAN CYCLE. AS A RESULT OF BECOMING SLEEP DEPRIVED; I NOTICED MYSELF BECOMING MORE IRRITABLE; LESS FOCUSED; AND MAKING MORE MISTAKES. THE NIGHT PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED ALL-NIGHT FLT TO LHR; I WAS UNABLE TO GET A RESTFUL SLEEP. IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT I WOULD BE UNFIT TO FLY. I CALLED THE CREW DESK AND REMOVED MYSELF FROM THE FLT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 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.