Narrative:

Removed self from duty after this flight due to fatigue. During the flight; particularly the descent and approach; I was having significant trouble focusing on the task at hand; staying alert; and had to confirm altitudes and ATC instructions with the pilot not flying on several occasions. After level off at the initial approach altitude; I was late adding power back in and although airspeed did not decay significantly it alarmed me into being more alert for the approach and landing. After landing I felt I had been behind and significantly less aware than usual. As I had slept poorly and already had coffee before the flight with little effect; I felt the situation was only likely to get worse and removed myself from duty. For illustrative purposes; even after taking a two hour nap when I got home; I still managed to leave half my groceries at the store this afternoon and miss my exit off the highway coming home. I never do things like that and I think it demonstrates the depth of impairment.looking back; I have no doubt the fatigue and poor sleep that resulted in my poor performance were induced by the dramatic variations in duty periods over the four day trip I had just finished the day prior. That trip involved an early show on day 1; almost 14 hours of duty; a late show and finish on day two; a late show and finish with reduced rest on day 3; leading into once again an early show and 9.5 hours duty with 5 legs on day 4. After that trip I was tired; but felt that a good night's sleep would leave me fit for duty the following day. I did not sleep well that night and awoke early. Wild schedule variations are unpleasantly common on reserve; but I do not think I have ever seen a pairing as poorly built as this one since holding a block. The repeated shifts from one end of the day to the other make it difficult to get a good night's sleep. The first couple of nights are manageable; but by end of the trip I find it increasingly difficult to settle down into a proper sleep.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ200 First Officer describes the circumstances leading up to a fatigue call.

Narrative: Removed self from duty after this flight due to fatigue. During the flight; particularly the descent and approach; I was having significant trouble focusing on the task at hand; staying alert; and had to confirm altitudes and ATC instructions with the pilot not flying on several occasions. After level off at the initial approach altitude; I was late adding power back in and although airspeed did not decay significantly it alarmed me into being more alert for the approach and landing. After landing I felt I had been behind and significantly less aware than usual. As I had slept poorly and already had coffee before the flight with little effect; I felt the situation was only likely to get worse and removed myself from duty. For illustrative purposes; even after taking a two hour nap when I got home; I still managed to leave half my groceries at the store this afternoon and miss my exit off the highway coming home. I never do things like that and I think it demonstrates the depth of impairment.Looking back; I have no doubt the fatigue and poor sleep that resulted in my poor performance were induced by the dramatic variations in duty periods over the four day trip I had just finished the day prior. That trip involved an early show on day 1; almost 14 hours of duty; a late show and finish on day two; a late show and finish with reduced rest on day 3; leading into once again an early show and 9.5 hours duty with 5 legs on day 4. After that trip I was tired; but felt that a good night's sleep would leave me fit for duty the following day. I did not sleep well that night and awoke early. Wild schedule variations are unpleasantly common on reserve; but I do not think I have ever seen a pairing as poorly built as this one since holding a block. The repeated shifts from one end of the day to the other make it difficult to get a good night's sleep. The first couple of nights are manageable; but by end of the trip I find it increasingly difficult to settle down into a proper sleep.

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.