Safety Matters June12_Gil WolinNov06 19/06/2012 14:29 Page 1
SAFETY MATTERS - PILOT FATIGUE
Avoid Nodding Off: Managing Fatigue Risk In Private Aviation. by Dave Higdon or pilots flying scheduled airlines the debate about fatigue remains a controversial topic – but largely from the regulatory perspective, debating whether the FAA’s new rules provide the guidance considered scientifically justified. The agency tacitly acknowledged the impact of cost-benefit consideration when deciding to exempt cargo carriers. Similarly, most professionals in aviation know that ongoing debate about leaving cargo out prompted the FAA to review the issue for cargo crews’ rest and duty rules. Safety and fatigue experts concur: Fatigue in safety-critical jobs applies regardless of what’s carried - cargo or people.
F
118
WORLD AIRCRAFT SALES MAGAZINE – July 2012
They also note that the issue remains an important one in General Aviation, whether it’s the on-demand charter commercial element, the private pilot flying a piston airplane, or a professional pilot flying a private jet under FAR 23. As one safety inspector explained, “It makes no difference, a tired body and fatigued mind make for a dangerous combination…behind the wheel of a truck, in the hospital operating room and most certainly at the controls of an airplane.” Yet exactly how companies and crew manage their rest and work cycles isn’t regulated like it is for airline crew. It’s mostly a matter of recognizing the problems that occur when crew fly exhausted, and then www.AvBuyer.com
self-imposing limits to prevent those issues from impacting operations. The major Aviation Organizations offer materials and courses to members to help them to understand and manage flying time and rest time, but it’s still ultimately up to operators to recognize and act on fatigue. That can sometimes be a difficult call for smaller flight departments and single-plane, single-pilot Business Aviation operators. And that’s where concerns arise. A cooperative study of Corporate Aviation by NASA, the Flight Safety Foundation and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) gives us some solid insights into the pervasive, insidious ❯ nature of fatigue as a flight-safety issue. Aircraft Index see Page 4