Narrative:

Let me begin by saying the fatigue call is the last call in my playbook. I have muscled through tough rest issues in the past and I consider the fatigue call a last resort. I have been employed here for over twelve and a half years and have called in with fatigue once before this incident. I certainly didn't want to spend another evening away from home and would have much rather been curled up on the couch with my fiancée than alone in a hotel. However; in this case; I felt it was in the best interest of our passengers' safety to remove myself from this flight. The root of my fatigue stems from our original schedule. I was on a 3 day trip that began in the afternoon. The first day was easy - just 2 legs. However; day 2 was quite the opposite - scheduled for 6 legs and over 10 hours of duty beginning midmorning and concluding ten and a half hours later. That schedule was amended as weather in the disrupted our original pairing and we suffered a cancellation after a tarmac delay of nearly 2 hours. Additionally; the weather that day contributed to my fatigue as turbulence; windshear and low visibility created challenging flying conditions from the moment we started until we finished our day ten hours and forty five minutes later. Day 3 started after a short overnight and was scheduled to be over a nine hour duty day. Our schedule essentially went from working an evening shift on the first day to an early morning shift on day 3 which always does a number on my internal clock. Needless to say; I was tired regardless of how today transpired. Also; I was on the tail end of a nasty cold that I received over the thanksgiving holiday and was feeling the lingering effects (sinus pressure; congestion; cough; etc) throughout the week. Day 3 events: it started early; but went well - an uneventful first two flights. After we deplaned on the second leg for an aircraft change; we were notified that the plane we were in had been swapped and would now be going to back to the previous destination. Our crew was to remain at the current station and wait on an aircraft delayed for maintenance on the ground up north. Our scheduled quickly changed; that flight was canceled for maintenance and we were reassigned to deadhead on the plane we just brought in. Our layover there was also cut short (less than an hour after running from the east concourse to our flight out of terminal B). Thus; there wasn't enough time to catch our breath; let alone eat. We departed on time and landed at our second to last destination about 15 minutes after we were scheduled to depart to our base for checkout. I quickly gathered my things and made a bee line to our aircraft to operate the last flight. I retrieved the paperwork and then proceeded to our aircraft. I was immediately greeted by an FAA inspector. He notified me that the plane was down for maintenance and our technicians had the aircraft logbook in their possession. So; I was unclear of the actual write-ups at this point. After settling in and stowing my bags; I called dispatch and maintenance control to get the extent of the delay. I was told it was delayed indefinitely and the technicians would be out in about 45 minutes (they were searching for the necessary parts to repair the discrepancy). Shortly after I got off the phone; our maintenance technicians arrived and I stepped outside to ask them for a status update. They told me they had been working on several issues brought up by this inspector and they were unsure on whether they could fix the problem. They started by replacing some missing/displaced screws along the wing fairing; but were also notified there was a loose screw on the lower side of the flap panel. They were unclear on whether they could fix the problem and got back into their truck and disappeared. I repeatedly called dispatch and maintenance control trying to figure out was going on; but to no avail. They keep saying give us another 20 minutes. After an hour of this back and forth; the fatigue of this trip was becoming quite evident - I could barely keep my eyes open awaiting the next update. Hoping it would help; I finally got something to eat; but that only contributed to my exhaustion. My contact lenses were burning and I was growing equally tired and frustrated with the situation. There was no progress throughout the duration of this delay and every time we moved forward; we were greeted by something that forced us to take a step back. For example; while we were waiting for the technicians to repair the flap panel; the inspector commented that our QRH binder should be 'looked at' because the rivet on the binder was showing some wear. I made the mistake of saying to my first officer (in the presence of the FAA inspector) that I wouldn't be awake by the time all of these issues were resolved. So; after two flights; two deadheads; countless running around; two and half hours of waiting and absolutely no end in sight; I made the decision to call in fatigued. I was exhausted and in the interest of safety; I felt I should remove myself from this trip. I know that I would not have been able to perform my duties at the standard I've set for myself; this airline and the meticulous FAA inspector awaiting to ride in my jumpseat. My request in this situation (and any others like it) would be a thorough examination of any reassignments after a shorter rest period (i.e. >12 hours). When they decided to cancel our first flight; they should have looked down the line and determined whether we could reasonably be expected to finish our trip by our originally scheduled release time. Instead; they created a new schedule with a negative 15 minute turn and drastically reduced block time for our flight home (34 minutes less than the original block time) just to show us arriving on time at our final destination. Additionally; this was done with the knowledge that our aircraft had been removed from service and we wouldn't be able to leave the next to last station even if we had arrived on time. I understand the need to complete flights and run an on time operation; but not at the expense of the health and well being of the flight crew because now it becomes a blatant disregard for the safety of that same operation. We are expected to act and present ourselves as professionals; but we are not treated with that same courtesy in these situations. It would be tough to imagine other airline crews being forced to complete the same schedule I just described above; so why is it acceptable for a regional airline crew?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An ERJ Captain called in fatigued on day three of a trip following numerous delays for aircraft maintenance and weather. Crew Scheduling knowingly changed layover periods and altered flight times.

Narrative: Let me begin by saying the fatigue call is the last call in my playbook. I have muscled through tough rest issues in the past and I consider the fatigue call a last resort. I have been employed here for over twelve and a half years and have called in with fatigue once before this incident. I certainly didn't want to spend another evening away from home and would have much rather been curled up on the couch with my fiancée than alone in a hotel. However; in this case; I felt it was in the best interest of our passengers' safety to remove myself from this flight. The root of my fatigue stems from our original schedule. I was on a 3 day trip that began in the afternoon. The first day was easy - just 2 legs. However; day 2 was quite the opposite - scheduled for 6 legs and over 10 hours of duty beginning midmorning and concluding ten and a half hours later. That schedule was amended as weather in the disrupted our original pairing and we suffered a cancellation after a tarmac delay of nearly 2 hours. Additionally; the weather that day contributed to my fatigue as turbulence; windshear and low visibility created challenging flying conditions from the moment we started until we finished our day ten hours and forty five minutes later. Day 3 started after a short overnight and was scheduled to be over a nine hour duty day. Our schedule essentially went from working an evening shift on the first day to an early morning shift on day 3 which always does a number on my internal clock. Needless to say; I was tired regardless of how today transpired. Also; I was on the tail end of a nasty cold that I received over the Thanksgiving holiday and was feeling the lingering effects (sinus pressure; congestion; cough; etc) throughout the week. Day 3 Events: It started early; but went well - an uneventful first two flights. After we deplaned on the second leg for an aircraft change; we were notified that the plane we were in had been swapped and would now be going to back to the previous destination. Our crew was to remain at the current station and wait on an aircraft delayed for maintenance on the ground up north. Our scheduled quickly changed; that flight was canceled for maintenance and we were reassigned to deadhead on the plane we just brought in. Our layover there was also cut short (less than an hour after running from the E concourse to our flight out of terminal B). Thus; there wasn't enough time to catch our breath; let alone eat. We departed on time and landed at our second to last destination about 15 minutes after we were scheduled to depart to our base for checkout. I quickly gathered my things and made a bee line to our aircraft to operate the last flight. I retrieved the paperwork and then proceeded to our aircraft. I was immediately greeted by an FAA Inspector. He notified me that the plane was down for maintenance and our technicians had the aircraft logbook in their possession. So; I was unclear of the actual write-ups at this point. After settling in and stowing my bags; I called Dispatch and Maintenance Control to get the extent of the delay. I was told it was delayed indefinitely and the Technicians would be out in about 45 minutes (they were searching for the necessary parts to repair the discrepancy). Shortly after I got off the phone; our Maintenance Technicians arrived and I stepped outside to ask them for a status update. They told me they had been working on several issues brought up by this Inspector and they were unsure on whether they could fix the problem. They started by replacing some missing/displaced screws along the wing fairing; but were also notified there was a loose screw on the lower side of the flap panel. They were unclear on whether they could fix the problem and got back into their truck and disappeared. I repeatedly called Dispatch and Maintenance Control trying to figure out was going on; but to no avail. They keep saying give us another 20 minutes. After an hour of this back and forth; the fatigue of this trip was becoming quite evident - I could barely keep my eyes open awaiting the next update. Hoping it would help; I finally got something to eat; but that only contributed to my exhaustion. My contact lenses were burning and I was growing equally tired and frustrated with the situation. There was no progress throughout the duration of this delay and every time we moved forward; we were greeted by something that forced us to take a step back. For example; while we were waiting for the Technicians to repair the flap panel; the Inspector commented that our QRH binder should be 'looked at' because the rivet on the binder was showing some wear. I made the mistake of saying to my First Officer (in the presence of the FAA Inspector) that I wouldn't be awake by the time all of these issues were resolved. So; after two flights; two deadheads; countless running around; two and half hours of waiting and absolutely no end in sight; I made the decision to call in fatigued. I was exhausted and in the interest of safety; I felt I should remove myself from this trip. I know that I would not have been able to perform my duties at the standard I've set for myself; this airline and the meticulous FAA Inspector awaiting to ride in my jumpseat. My request in this situation (and any others like it) would be a thorough examination of any reassignments after a shorter rest period (i.e. >12 hours). When they decided to cancel our first flight; they should have looked down the line and determined whether we could reasonably be expected to finish our trip by our originally scheduled release time. Instead; they created a new schedule with a negative 15 minute turn and drastically reduced block time for our flight home (34 minutes less than the original block time) just to show us arriving on time at our final destination. Additionally; this was done with the knowledge that our aircraft had been removed from service and we wouldn't be able to leave the next to last station even if we had arrived on time. I understand the need to complete flights and run an on time operation; but not at the expense of the health and well being of the flight crew because now it becomes a blatant disregard for the safety of that same operation. We are expected to act and present ourselves as professionals; but we are not treated with that same courtesy in these situations. It would be tough to imagine other airline crews being forced to complete the same schedule I just described above; so why is it acceptable for a regional airline crew?

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.