Following the conclusion of its investigation of Go pilots who fell asleep during a February 2008 flight, the US National Transportation Safety Board has issued six recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration. These are related to pilot fatigue and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Both pilots on board a Bombardier CRJ200 on a flight from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaii fell asleep at cruise altitude (Flight International, 11-17 August). After the incident the captain was diagnosed with severe OSA, and the NTSB also raised questions over crew work schedules contributing to fatigue.
In its recommendation letter to the FAA, the NTSB highlights evidence that civilian pilots are significantly underdiagnosed for sleep apnea, even though they typically suffer from more risk factors associated with the condition, including obesity and hypertension.
The NTSB says that the FAA does not provide guidance to aviation medical examiners outlining risk factors for OSA, nor does it routinely use medication information collected from examinations to screen for the condition.
Three of NTSB's six recommendations are specifically related to OSA. These include modifying the airman medical certificate to elicit specific information about a previous diagnosis of the condition and risk factors for the condition; creating a programme that identifies pilots with a high risk for the condition to obtain necessary treatment; and develop and distribute guidance for pilots, employees and physicians on identifying and treating high-risk individuals.
The Go investigation also triggered concern about pilot work schedules after it was determined it was the third consecutive day the pilots had started duty at 05:40. The remaining three recommendations centre on fatigue. The NTSB is urging the FAA to conduct research on how pilot fatigue is affected by unique characteristics of short-haul flying, and identify methods to reduce those effects.
The NTSB believes that the FAA should issue interim guidance with relevant safety information stemming from the research as it becomes available. Once the research is complete, the board recommends that the FAA should require operators of short-haul flights, multi-segment flights to incorporate the interim guidance into their operating specifications.
Source: Flight International
