Narrative:

Due to inadequate sleep; I experienced fatigue related symptoms during my scheduled flight. Weather was below category I minimums; so I took control of the aircraft from the first officer and we set up for a CAT III approach.during the first approach attempt; I had begun the descent too late; resulting in the aircraft not being properly configured prior to the final approach fix. We asked ATC for vectors so we could go around and try the approach again. On the second approach attempt; we had the aircraft configured appropriately prior to the final approach fix; but we failed to get the aiii arm message. We elected to perform another missed approach and discovered that the flight path angle was not properly set in the heads-up control panel. We were finally able to perform a successful CAT III approach and land safely on the third approach attempt. I believe I operated the aircraft at a degraded level of safety due to a severe lack of sleep caused by long duty days; minimum rest two nights in a row; and the resulting upset of my natural circadian sleep cycle.the 'it is legal' attitude in scheduling is a tremendous safety hazard! I felt like I was simply expected to accept the assigned schedule. The recent letter from our chief pilot concerning excessive sick time usage made me fearful of using our fatigue policy or calling in sick from this trip until after a major safety issue had manifested itself! I'm not sure of [the chief pilot's] intent; but his letter caused a severe degradation of safety in my case.in retrospect; I should never have left the hotel that morning without getting more sleep. Day 2 of the 4 day trip was almost 13 hours on duty due to several maintenance issues; followed by a 9 hour overnight. We were also somewhat late on day 3 which resulted in a 9:35 hour overnight. I did not get to sleep until 0230 on the first day. Yet I was somehow supposed to fly my schedule later that day; then wake up at 0330 on the second day and be expected to fly safely!! I don't care if it was a 'bid packet trip' or not; this trip was 100% at risk of having a fatigue issue even if we ran on time. Inadequate staffing is running all pilots ragged. Improving trips will help; but there is a much bigger problem in that safety is taking second place to completing the flight at all costs.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier Captain related multiple missed approaches due to inappropriate configuration and/or approach stabilization while attempting a CATIII approach. Believes the go arounds were the result of reduced personal performance resulting from fatigue inducing scheduling practices at his airline.

Narrative: Due to inadequate sleep; I experienced fatigue related symptoms during my scheduled flight. Weather was below Category I minimums; so I took control of the aircraft from the First Officer and we set up for a CAT III approach.During the first approach attempt; I had begun the descent too late; resulting in the aircraft not being properly configured prior to the final approach fix. We asked ATC for vectors so we could go around and try the approach again. On the second approach attempt; we had the aircraft configured appropriately prior to the final approach fix; but we failed to get the AIII ARM message. We elected to perform another missed approach and discovered that the flight path angle was not properly set in the Heads-up Control Panel. We were finally able to perform a successful CAT III approach and land safely on the third approach attempt. I believe I operated the aircraft at a degraded level of safety due to a severe lack of sleep caused by long duty days; minimum rest TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW; and the resulting upset of my natural circadian sleep cycle.The 'It is legal' attitude in scheduling is a tremendous SAFETY HAZARD! I felt like I was simply expected to accept the assigned schedule. The recent letter from our Chief Pilot concerning excessive sick time usage made me fearful of using our fatigue policy or calling in sick from this trip until after a major safety issue had manifested itself! I'm not sure of [the Chief Pilot's] intent; but his letter caused a SEVERE DEGRADATION OF SAFETY in my case.In retrospect; I should never have left the hotel that morning without getting more sleep. Day 2 of the 4 day trip was almost 13 hours on duty due to several maintenance issues; followed by a 9 hour overnight. We were also somewhat late on day 3 which resulted in a 9:35 hour overnight. I did not get to sleep until 0230 on the first day. Yet I was somehow supposed to fly my schedule later that day; then wake up at 0330 on the second day and be expected to fly safely!! I don't care if it was a 'bid packet trip' or not; this trip was 100% at risk of having a fatigue issue even if we ran on time. Inadequate staffing is running all pilots ragged. Improving trips will help; but there is a much bigger problem in that SAFETY is taking second place to completing the flight at all costs.

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.