Pilot Fatigue Research

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Everyone tolerates fatigue in some form or the other until it starts to show through performance degradation. This becomes a major hazard for pilots as aircrafts, regardless of modern or old, requires a complex framework of systems to work in harmony with each other to create a successful and safe flight. From doing a plane inspection to dealing with the flight plan, pilots are needed to be on their most alert especially when transporting other lives and property. According to Campbell and Bagshaw (2002), factors leading to the development of fatigue are most prevalent in early starts, night time flying and frequent flying times for short haul crew. For the long-haul crew, factors ore more prevalent in long duration flying and crossing time …show more content…

Maximum duty time for both scenarios are up to 14 hours. This duty time refers to the flight time plus the time the crew members are at the airport on active duty. This part also mandates a minimum rest period of 10 hours before any duty time and 12 hours after duty rest if the flight time exceeds the respective 8 or 10 flight hours depending on the crew size. Additionally, provisions have been made for pilots on Multi-Time Zone flights which ensures 14 hours of rest after normal duty. This is important since crossing time zones can have a negative impact on the circadian rhythm.
Part 135 involves regulations for On-Demand operations unlike scheduled carriers that operate under Part 121. In part 135 there are two parts for rest requirements- scheduled and unscheduled operations. For scheduled operations, crew members rest periods should include: “9 consecutive hours for less than 8 hours of flight time;10 consecutive hours for more than 8 but less than 9 hours of flight time; 11 consecutive hours for more than 9 hours of flight time” (Government Publishing Office, 2017, 14 CFR Part …show more content…

All of these requirements surpasses at least 8 hours of rest before duty in a 24 hour period. However, it is evident that rest requirements become more specific as the type of flight operations becomes more complex, for instance, Part 91 versus Part 121. The only requirement that may not be sufficient is the unscheduled 135 operations that can be demanding and take a toll on crew members for multi-zone flying. From personal experience of interacting with pilots working for on-demand charters, operators tend to abuse this rule when it comes to multi-zone flights that require a round

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