Narrative:

Layover scheduled to provide adequate rest prior to XE00 showtime. However; loud banging noise (pipes?) in hotel awoke me at XA30. Banging continued intermittently until railroad train horns took over just around XC00. Called to cancel my wake-up call early due to inability to sleep. I felt exhausted; but okay to go during engine start and taxi. Caught myself repeatedly questioning myself and other crewmembers as to whether certain checklist items had been completed. On short flight; I was straining to overcome fatigue to stay ahead of the aircraft (e.g.; started a discretionary descent earlier than necessary due to situational awareness). When we called the field on a dogleg to final; we were given clearance for a visual. While configuring the aircraft; I fixated on cockpit instrumentation due to fatigue; and missed the fact that the aircraft had drifted one dot left of (localizer) centerline for runway 18 due to higher winds at altitude. I had to arrest the drift; and then correct aggressively to establish the aircraft back to centerline. The winds died down below 1;000 ft AGL and a normal approach/landing ensued. During taxi; the tower asked if we had experienced strong crosswinds during the approach. The wind was stiff; but I should have detected and corrected earlier on. I was beat; however. In hindsight; I should have shelved my can-do attitude and given the first leg to the first officer until such time as I had recovered from the deep biorhythm dip aggravated by my lack of sleep. I don't believe that there were any ATC issues; but the lesson is learned.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B727 Captain described the effect that fatigue caused by hotel sleep disruption had on his performance during an early morning flight.

Narrative: Layover scheduled to provide adequate rest prior to XE00 showtime. However; loud banging noise (pipes?) in hotel awoke me at XA30. Banging continued intermittently until railroad train horns took over just around XC00. Called to cancel my wake-up call early due to inability to sleep. I felt exhausted; but okay to go during engine start and taxi. Caught myself repeatedly questioning myself and other crewmembers as to whether certain checklist items had been completed. On short flight; I was straining to overcome fatigue to stay ahead of the aircraft (e.g.; started a discretionary descent earlier than necessary due to situational awareness). When we called the field on a dogleg to final; we were given clearance for a visual. While configuring the aircraft; I fixated on cockpit instrumentation due to fatigue; and missed the fact that the aircraft had drifted one dot left of (LOC) centerline for Runway 18 due to higher winds at altitude. I had to arrest the drift; and then correct aggressively to establish the aircraft back to centerline. The winds died down below 1;000 FT AGL and a normal approach/landing ensued. During taxi; the Tower asked if we had experienced strong crosswinds during the approach. The wind was stiff; but I should have detected and corrected earlier on. I was beat; however. In hindsight; I should have shelved my can-do attitude and given the first leg to the First Officer until such time as I had recovered from the deep biorhythm dip aggravated by my lack of sleep. I don't believe that there were any ATC issues; but the lesson is learned.

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.