Fatigue in Airline Pilots - page 4
Keywords: Fatigue Pilots Airline Psychology
By Wriggley on 29/04/2010
Level: Bachelor Honours Degree (BA, BEng, BSc etc)
Page Number: 4 of 4 pages: 1 2 3 4
taken seriously when it can be seen that sleep deprivation has an equal or even greater effect than alcohol when the Federal Aviation Authority has a mandatory no alcohol rule eight hours before flight time bit no mandatory amount of sleep. Possible solutions to the financial causes of fatigue have been suggested, these have ranged from providing pre and between shift rest rooms for pilots and co-pilots to setting a national minimum wage for pilots which would see the end for additional jobs and possibly cut down on enormous commutes suffered by some pilots.
The need to treat sleep deprivation and general fatigue need to be treated more seriously as the number of flights in the air at any one time increases year on year not just for the safety of passengers and other aircrew but for the sake of the pilots themselves. Overworked, fatigued pilots report an increase in incidents of ill health complaining of everything from gastro-intestinal problems and irritable bowel syndrome to an increased incidence of mental health problems including depression, anxiety and phobias. There have also been a number of cases of “suicide by aircraft” from overstressed pilots; these must be considered a warning shot to the general populace of pilots for their own sake.
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