ABC Investigates lack of pilot sleep

[Flybet3]

So anyone who doesn't go through Hell Week is a wuss? Like all the Marines over in the Gulf?

I didn't say that, you did sooooo shame on you.

 

[Jar Jar]

That's what I'm saying. I would love to see some of these babies going through Navy Seal hell week. Pu$$ies.

Wonder why former Navy Seals dont become airline pilots?

Cost:Benefit.
They're smart.

You want a person of that caliber flying your plane for 18 hours a day? Set the salary/benefits right and they'll come kicking the door in (literally:laugh.

 

[LewisU_Pilot]

Eagle is done with the CDOs come August.

 

[Gr82Aviate]

Wonder why former Navy Seals dont become airline pilots?

Cost:Benefit.
They're smart.

You want a person of that caliber flying your plane for 18 hours a day? Set the salary/benefits right and they'll come kicking the door in (literally:laugh.

We have a former Navy Seal working here, if that wasn't bad enough he even married my ex... proof that not every one of them is that smart!

 

[QOL_is_great:)]

If you're going to ban CDO's you might as well ban red-eyes and all third shift work in any safety sensitive occupation.

More stringent reserve requirements for people covering CDOs sure, but asking to ban them is rediculous. It's third shift work.

That would mean banning ALL maintenance too. Could ya see that happening? I know that'll never happen.

I agree, stand-ups and reduced rest have got to go. Make a min rest period of 10 hrs and DON'T count the damn hotel van ride. Give a 30 minute post-flight/shutdown window that includes the van ride. Maintenance write-up then the time is added.

 

[BoilerUP]

Make reduced rest a thing of the past by requiring a MINIMUM rest of 10 hours under any circumstances, and you're good to go.

A CDO isn't much different than the aforementioned red-eye flying or what UPS/FDX does; I don't think they should be banned, but they should be constructed in pure overnight flying lines to avoid continual turning around of the circadian rhythm.

 

[DiverDriver]

CDOs screw the rest of the pairings into being overworked. Get rid of CDOs and more overnights become staged. Instead of me being scheduled 13 hours of duty which is BS in PHL the pairings become more reasonable. It's not that CDOs can't be done. It's that CDOs cause other pairings to become fatiguing. It's indirectly negative. And to say regional airline CDOs are the same as working at UPS/FedEx is a bad analogy. Those UPS pilots walk to a crew room designed for them and their needs. Regional crews have to wait for a van to a hotel that may or may not give them any rest (noise, long van ride, etc). It is not apples to apples.

A red eye is one flight on the backside of the clock. Not that same either. And yes switching circadian rythms is definitely a greater culprit to fatigue.

 

[sweptback]

It's funny how at ASA CDOs were unsafe until our new contract, which provided for a 1:2 duty rig to 12 hours then 1:1 after that. When a CDO starts paying 8 hours of credit, suddenly they become the safest trips out there.

In fact, now that the trips actually pay something (rather than straight block) you're seeing more people pick up a nap at the end of their 4-day trip as an easy way to get your credit up for the month. Ideal from a paycheck perspective, but not so much from a rest perspective.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

I love sitting CDO reserve. I hate that turning into 2 days of 5 am show time ready reserve to then switch back the next 2 days to getting called to fly a CDO. That is total fatiguing BS and should be illegal.

 

[WayBack]

I don't want CDOs banned! I want screwing with circadian rhythm banned.

I bid for and fly stand-ups all the time, with no issue. The problem is when you have a reserve pilot called at 4 am and told they're on rest until a 2045 show time. Add in having commuted from a different time zone and you have trouble.

Just my $.02

-JP

Commuting days are over.