The Hindu Business Line : The fatigue factor in flight safety

The recent DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) rule on flight and duty time limitation for flight crew is about the best safety initiative in India for a long time. Proper implementation and follow up are necessary for getting the true benefit of this new rule. Several other safety initiatives, such as the ALAR (Approach and Landing Accident Reduction) project, were started out in the right spirit but have been given a silent burial. With the exponential increase in civil aviation operations, flight safety has to find a premium place.

The new rule, which has come into effect since yesterday, has been postponed a few times. There was pressure from various agencies to postpone this further or shelve it totally. If that had happened, it would only have exposed the short-sightedness of the authorities. They should understand that safety is paramount and what we want is “Safe Civil Aviation Operation”.

The effect of fatigue and sleep deprivation on flight safety has been known to the safety-conscious world for a long time. Australia has been at the forefront in the study of safety. The result of its commitment is evident from the fact that the country has had just one air accident in the last 40 years. Compare that with the statistics in India, and we can see that we lag far behind in the safety culture. One of the reasons has been the people who control aviation.

A look at the accident and incident records of Indian aviation exposes the failure of policy. When good initiatives in keeping with world standards are introduced, , impediments in implementation often come in the way.

Fatigue factor

Several safety studies have established that fatigue is a major factor in air accidents. The most striking example is that of Korean Air 801, which crashed in Guam in 1997, and which led to the initiation of the ALAR project by the Flight Safety Foundation, one of the world’s premium safety organisations.

The Australian Transportation Safety Board’s research is one of the best on the topic. In spite of having the best safety record in the world, it has continued with the research and is committed to the implementation of the suggestions made in safety studies.

A recent regulation issued by the Joint Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr A. K. Chopra, states: “The ICAO, while recognising the effect of fatigue on performance, has recommended contracting states to establish regulations specifying the limitations applicable to the flight time, duty period and rest period for flight crew members.”

Further, it requires that these provisos should ensure that fatigue, occurring either in flight or successive flights or accumulated over a period of time due to these and other tasks, does not endanger the safety of a flight.

Another important factor, which has been brought out by Dr Wooten in the Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin, is “micro sleep”. This event can occur due to fatigue and lasts from 0.5 seconds to 10 seconds.

Dr Wooten, in his report, mentions that “micro sleep” has occurred in several of the air accidents that he has covered. A significant aspect of his report is the fact that these “micro sleep” occurrences have taken place during approach and landing phases of the flight.

An aircraft on approach travels at 250 kmph, covering 400 feet in one second. One can imagine the catastrophe if a fatigued pilot gets into a “micro sleep” state.

Stressed pilots

Safety studies have also established that a fatigued pilot tends to take riskier decisions. Our skies are getting overcrowded. Infrastructure is yet to catch up with the speed of aircraft acquisitions.

Pilot shortage is resulting in experience levels falling at an alarming rate. Should we be more proactive in safety-related requirements or should commercial aspects take precedence?

People have forgotten October 12, 1976. An Indian Airlines Caravelle flight from Bombay to Madras (as the two cities were known then) crashed on take-off, killing all on board. The captain was a fatigued management pilot of the airline, who had done a morning flight on the Boeing, attended office the whole day and then operated the fateful flight.

Another fatal accident, of American Airlines flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, is a widely discussed one on “wet runway accidents” where, again, fatigue is a major factor.

According to the former Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, US, Jim Hall: “The failure of crews to take alternative action has been observed repeatedly in accidents involving fatigue.”

One hopes that the new safety initiative will pay off. No one wants a repeat of October 12, 1976.

Plugging the loopholes

In the earlier Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), the total duty time and time spent in office or training, positioning crew for operating a flight, etc., were not taken into consideration. Airlines and pilots used the loopholes in the system, ignoring the effect of fatigue on the human body.

There have been several instances of pilots, both management and line pilots, misusing the grey areas in the regulations.

An example that stands out is that of an Air India management pilot who went as a passenger on the Mumbai-Frankfurt flight as an additional crew member, and then operated a scheduled passenger flight to New York from Frankfurt, immediately after landing at Frankfurt. He was on board the aircraft for almost 24 hours. Management or training captains often spend hours before a scheduled flight in office or simulators, and then operate a full duty period, thus endangering flight safety.

The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) had identified that human performance deteriorates rapidly as “Time since Awake” increases beyond 14 hours. The new CAR has covered all these issues and ensures that the onus of maintaining the limits is on both the management and the individual pilots.

(The author is an airline captain with 35 years flying experience.)