Narrative:

I was scheduled for am reserve for four days. On day one; I completed the am shift. At the end of that shift; crew scheduling assigned a pm trip for the next day that was scheduled to end late the following evening. Due to circadian rhythms associated with consistently working am shifts; I was awake too early on day two. My reserve shift began and I flew five flights with a block time of about five hours total. My last flight departed late. At arrival time; I had been awake for almost 20 hours and had been on duty for just under 14 hours. It should be noted that I normally go to sleep early in order to be rested for my regular early morning shift. During the decent and approach to our destination an hour later; I began to notice that I was experiencing the debilitating effects of fatigue in the form of various small errors. The arrival airport was under IFR conditions and I used the hgs for an approach. This required a great deal of concentration due to inclement weather and turbulence. I found it difficult to focus through the HUD once the airport was in sight and experienced spacial disorientation due to the very dark area around the airport; a strong crosswind and effects associated with fatigue. We had a normal landing. Although; I missed my planned turn off and exited the runway at the end. Cause: I have been working the am reserve shift for about three years. Over the past six months; this scenario has become common. The airline continues to operate with minimal staffing and relies on circadian swaps in order to cover multiple shifts. Even though many pilots have complained that fatigue is compromising safety; this company continues to ignore it and even attempts to defend the policy by saying that pilots are only 'tired' and not fatigued. Our policy puts the responsibility on the pilot to determine when he is fatigued. Research shows that people that have been awake for 17 hours have the mental acuity of a person with a blood alcohol content (bac) of 0.05%. Obviously; this would be considered legally intoxicated for a commercial airline pilot. Would you ask someone who is intoxicated if they feel ok to drive home in a car? Furthermore; our policy states that the fatigue policy is non-punitive even though the company will doc the pilots pay for saying 'I'm fatigued.' with all the other stresses associated with operating an airliner in a complex environment; should I really be concerned with how much money that the company will take from me if I say that I am too 'tired' to fly? The reasons that this event occurred are obvious. Safety was compromised during approach to an airport at midnight during inclement weather due to a circadian swap followed by an exceptionally long duty day with insufficient rest prior to beginning duty.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier Captain describes the fatigue effect due to circadian rhythms associated with consistently working AM reserve shifts then being switched to a PM trip with a very late checkout.

Narrative: I was scheduled for AM Reserve for four days. On day one; I completed the AM shift. At the end of that shift; Crew Scheduling assigned a PM trip for the next day that was scheduled to end late the following evening. Due to circadian rhythms associated with consistently working AM shifts; I was awake too early on day two. My reserve shift began and I flew five flights with a block time of about five hours total. My last flight departed late. At arrival time; I had been awake for almost 20 hours and had been on duty for just under 14 hours. It should be noted that I normally go to sleep early in order to be rested for my regular early morning shift. During the decent and approach to our destination an hour later; I began to notice that I was experiencing the debilitating effects of fatigue in the form of various small errors. The arrival airport was under IFR conditions and I used the HGS for an approach. This required a great deal of concentration due to inclement weather and turbulence. I found it difficult to focus through the HUD once the airport was in sight and experienced spacial disorientation due to the very dark area around the airport; a strong crosswind and effects associated with fatigue. We had a normal landing. Although; I missed my planned turn off and exited the runway at the end. Cause: I have been working the AM reserve shift for about three years. Over the past six months; this scenario has become common. The airline continues to operate with minimal staffing and relies on circadian swaps in order to cover multiple shifts. Even though many pilots have complained that fatigue is compromising safety; this company continues to ignore it and even attempts to defend the policy by saying that pilots are only 'tired' and not fatigued. Our policy puts the responsibility on the pilot to determine when he is fatigued. Research shows that people that have been awake for 17 hours have the mental acuity of a person with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05%. Obviously; this would be considered legally intoxicated for a commercial airline pilot. Would you ask someone who is intoxicated if they feel OK to drive home in a car? Furthermore; our policy states that the fatigue policy is non-punitive even though the company will doc the pilots pay for saying 'I'm Fatigued.' With all the other stresses associated with operating an airliner in a complex environment; should I really be concerned with how much money that the company will take from me if I say that I am too 'tired' to fly? The reasons that this event occurred are obvious. Safety was compromised during approach to an airport at midnight during inclement weather due to a circadian swap followed by an exceptionally long duty day with insufficient rest prior to beginning duty.

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.