50 Pct of Airline Pilots Fall Asleep At Controls of Aircraft

There have been occasions when the flying chiefs have woken up from their cockpit nap and found their colleagues have dozed off next to them while flying.

After the 1944 Chicago Convention, fatigue has been recognized as a risk factor to safe flying operations. As fatigue and exhaustion can occur in case of a healthy individual, nevertheless it effects performance and decreases concentration which cannot be ignored making it a hazard to safety.

The reason to feel exhausted and tried is linked to the long work hours, unlikely shift hours leading to insufficient sleep and rest. As per the research it has been proved that tried pilots have more chances to make mistakes when caught in a critical situation. There are reasons to believe even when pilots feel ‘dead tired’ after a long day they are required to be completely alert to make important decisions. Even concentration and making a safe landing becomes a hard task when pilots stay awake for long hours.

Accidents and incidents like Colgan Air in 2009, Air India Express 2010 and the most recent in 2012, an Air Berlin plane which requested emergency landing due to pilot fatigue in Munich prove it can be fatal.

Research have labeled fatigue to be the major factor leading to accidents or incidents where there is no potential evidence to count on.