Solution for fatigued workers eludes FAA

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Federal Aviation Administration told a government watchdog nearly two years ago that it was prepared to let air-traffic controllers sleep or rest during work shifts when they weren’t directing aircraft. It still hasn’t happened.

When the FAA proposed new limits on airline pilots’ work schedules to prevent fatigue last year, it rejected its own research recommending that pilots be allowed to take naps during the cruise phase of flight — typically most of a flight when the plane is neither climbing nor descending — so that they are refreshed and alert during landings.

And an FAA committee that has been working for several years on new work rules to prevent fatigue among night-shift airline mechanics has made little progress, said one committee member. Allowing naps during breaks on overnight shifts was dismissed as a nonstarter.

In a 24/7 industry such as aviation, fatigue is a fact of life. Managing work schedules to minimize fatigue can make the difference between life and death. There have been 14 aviation accidents with 263 fatalities since 1993 in which fatigue was cited as the cause or a contributing factor, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Yet the FAA has struggled unsuccessfully for decades to revamp workplace rules for controllers, pilots and mechanics despite a consensus that fatigue is one of the industry’s most pressing safety issues. While recognizing the problem is easy, developing workable solutions acceptable to airlines, labor unions and government regulators is tough. Money is a factor. So are public perceptions.

The issue has taken on a new urgency after at least five recent incidents of controllers’ falling asleep on the job while working overnight shifts. In two cases, controllers have been fired.

In a sixth incident, a controller working an overnight shift was suspended for watching a movie on a portable DVD player while he was supposed to be monitoring air traffic. Present and former controllers have told The Associated Press that it’s not unusual for controllers on overnight shifts at radar facilities when traffic is light to watch movies, play online poker and read magazines to help them stay awake.

The alternative, they said, is to spend eight hours in a dimly lit room staring at a radar scope while trying not to fall asleep.