Narrative:

In the last month I have had numerous stressful situations going on in my personal life. I had called in sick for a trip two weeks ago because I did not feel that I was fit to fly (unable to sleep well at night; unable to focus; stomach cramps; etc). I feel it was stress related. I probably should have called in for this trip as well; but felt that if I did so I would probably get a call from the company questioning the event because it was so close to the other sick event and I just didn't feel like dealing with one more thing. I justified it because this was a short trip; I was flying with a friend; and the weather looked good everywhere. That all changed when we went over 8/24 and the crew desk called to reassign me to trip that wouldn't get me home (including my commute) until 24 hours after when I was to originally return. The weather would be deteriorating and the extra long days was the 'stick that broke my back.' when I paused during my conversation with the crew desk; she said that 'I will put you down as informed of the change'. I responded that that was fine; but I may need to go on sick list. Her response got very defensive. She obviously thought I was playing games with her. I don't blame her for thinking this; but do not agree with how she handled it. She told me that I shouldn't be telling her that I needed to go on sick list because if I went on sick list; I would have to talk to a flight manager. I said that I was fine with that and I was just trying to protect myself because of the tremendous amount of stress I was currently under. I tried to negotiate a different option with her (i.e. Different flights; less flying; etc). That is where I now realize that I was flat out wrong. I should have just called in sick at that moment because I was in no mental condition to negotiate anything. I was not fit to fly! I then stopped the conversation and told her that I needed to go and I may call back later. She said 'o.k. I'll show you as informed of the change.' I said fine and hung up. I then went for a 10 minute walk to evaluate the situation. I still struggled with 'getting into trouble' with the company if I called in sick; but decided that I just wasn't fit to fly. I then decided to call her back and do the right thing (something that I should have done before the trip had even started). I called in sick. The same scheduler put me on hold for several minutes; came back on and said that she would put me on sick list; but if she did; I would have to talk to a flight manager. I said I was fine with that. I walked into the flight office and talked immediately to a flight manager. He helped me get on the next flight home. I was thankful for his support and time. The last couple of weeks have been difficult personally; but my family and I have made positive changes in our lives and I have used many stress management techniques that my union and other sources have made available to alleviate much of the stress in my life. I feel that things are improving. I won't; however; hesitate ever again to call in sick when I do not feel fit to fly for any reason! It's not worth the price.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier pilot; under stress in his personal life; refused to accept a reassignment that would extend his time away from home.

Narrative: In the last month I have had numerous stressful situations going on in my personal life. I had called in sick for a trip two weeks ago because I did not feel that I was fit to fly (unable to sleep well at night; unable to focus; stomach cramps; etc). I feel it was stress related. I probably should have called in for this trip as well; but felt that if I did so I would probably get a call from the company questioning the event because it was so close to the other sick event and I just didn't feel like dealing with one more thing. I justified it because this was a short trip; I was flying with a friend; and the weather looked good everywhere. That all changed when we went over 8/24 and the crew desk called to reassign me to trip that wouldn't get me home (including my commute) until 24 hours after when I was to originally return. The weather would be deteriorating and the extra long days was the 'stick that broke my back.' When I paused during my conversation with the crew desk; she said that 'I will put you down as informed of the change'. I responded that that was fine; but I may need to go on sick list. Her response got very defensive. She obviously thought I was playing games with her. I don't blame her for thinking this; but do not agree with how she handled it. She told me that I shouldn't be telling her that I needed to go on sick list because if I went on sick list; I would have to talk to a flight manager. I said that I was fine with that and I was just trying to protect myself because of the tremendous amount of stress I was currently under. I tried to negotiate a different option with her (i.e. different flights; less flying; etc). That is where I now realize that I was flat out wrong. I should have just called in sick at that moment because I was in no mental condition to negotiate anything. I was not fit to fly! I then stopped the conversation and told her that I needed to go and I may call back later. She said 'o.k. I'll show you as informed of the change.' I said fine and hung up. I then went for a 10 minute walk to evaluate the situation. I still struggled with 'getting into trouble' with the company if I called in sick; but decided that I just wasn't fit to fly. I then decided to call her back and do the right thing (something that I should have done before the trip had even started). I called in sick. The same scheduler put me on hold for several minutes; came back on and said that she would put me on sick list; but if she did; I would have to talk to a flight manager. I said I was fine with that. I walked into the flight office and talked immediately to a flight manager. He helped me get on the next flight home. I was thankful for his support and time. The last couple of weeks have been difficult personally; but my family and I have made positive changes in our lives and I have used many stress management techniques that my union and other sources have made available to alleviate much of the stress in my life. I feel that things are improving. I won't; however; hesitate ever again to call in sick when I do not feel fit to fly for any reason! It's not worth the price.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.