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A B727 captain described the effect that fatigue caused by hotel sleep disruption had on his performance during an early morning flight.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 863207 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200912 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dawn |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B727 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Final Approach Landing |
| Route In Use | Vectors Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Flight Engineer Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 45 Flight Crew Total 11000 Flight Crew Type 2840 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Track / Heading All Types Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown |
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.
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.