looks like brokeback mountain at Mesa...
Dec 28th, 2006
WFAA-TV
Pilots admit to flying tired. Some have fallen asleep during takeoff. Also Online
One of the nation's largest regional airlines is changing its policy regarding sleeping on planes. This action follows a News 8 investigation on pilot fatigue.
Mesa Airlines will no longer force pilots to "camp out" in the passenger section of planes when the aircraft are parked between flights overnight.
News 8 broke the story on "camp outs," last month.
Until our investigation, if you were flying Mesa Airlines, your pilot might have rolled out a sleeping bag and curled up in the cabin of an airplane the night before your flight.
Mesa flies into Dallas under the U.S. Airways Express brand and is one of the largest regional airlines in the country.
On overnight schedules between flights, Mesa pilots regularly took off their ties, took apart seats to make a bed, and stretched out to try to get some sleep.
It's part of what can often be a twelve hour long duty day for many regional pilots, and they say that leads to exhaustion and mistakes.
"Almost landing on the wrong runway," said one pilot who asked not to be identified, "[or] landing with a checklist that turned out to be incomplete."
As at most airlines, Mesa pilots fly what's called continuous duty overnights. That's where they might have to spend as much as four hours on the ground in the middle of the night.
It's all within FAA regulations.
But now, after News 8 revealed pilots were camping out on their aircraft, Mesa modified its procedures.
In a crew briefing obtained by News 8, Mesa is now telling its pilots, "All continuous duty overnights less than four hours will have one crew hotel room available. Please contact the (Mesa) hotel desk."
In other words, Mesa will now pay for a crew to split a hotel room instead of camping out on the plane.
When News 8 contacted Mesa about the change, airline spokesman Paul Skellon said, "We have no comment."
But pilots say a hotel room won't solve the real problem.
"We don't transport ourselves from the airplane to a hotel bed and are immediately asleep," said one pilot. "Pilots have to be transported to the hotel and a lot of times, transportation doesn't come to them in a timely manner."
Check out the pickup area at any airport and you'll see pilots waiting for a ride to the hotel. Every minute of waiting time eats into sleep a pilot needs to function.
A lot of pilots say their sleep deprivation is constant. It's not just when they're on continuous duty overnights, but it is throughout their work schedule. They say they regularly fly on as little as four hours of sleep.
It's a problem, pilots say, that exists not just at Mesa, but every regional airline in the country.
Dec 28th, 2006
WFAA-TV
Pilots admit to flying tired. Some have fallen asleep during takeoff. Also Online
One of the nation's largest regional airlines is changing its policy regarding sleeping on planes. This action follows a News 8 investigation on pilot fatigue.
Mesa Airlines will no longer force pilots to "camp out" in the passenger section of planes when the aircraft are parked between flights overnight.
News 8 broke the story on "camp outs," last month.
Until our investigation, if you were flying Mesa Airlines, your pilot might have rolled out a sleeping bag and curled up in the cabin of an airplane the night before your flight.
Mesa flies into Dallas under the U.S. Airways Express brand and is one of the largest regional airlines in the country.
On overnight schedules between flights, Mesa pilots regularly took off their ties, took apart seats to make a bed, and stretched out to try to get some sleep.
It's part of what can often be a twelve hour long duty day for many regional pilots, and they say that leads to exhaustion and mistakes.
"Almost landing on the wrong runway," said one pilot who asked not to be identified, "[or] landing with a checklist that turned out to be incomplete."
As at most airlines, Mesa pilots fly what's called continuous duty overnights. That's where they might have to spend as much as four hours on the ground in the middle of the night.
It's all within FAA regulations.
But now, after News 8 revealed pilots were camping out on their aircraft, Mesa modified its procedures.
In a crew briefing obtained by News 8, Mesa is now telling its pilots, "All continuous duty overnights less than four hours will have one crew hotel room available. Please contact the (Mesa) hotel desk."
In other words, Mesa will now pay for a crew to split a hotel room instead of camping out on the plane.
When News 8 contacted Mesa about the change, airline spokesman Paul Skellon said, "We have no comment."
But pilots say a hotel room won't solve the real problem.
"We don't transport ourselves from the airplane to a hotel bed and are immediately asleep," said one pilot. "Pilots have to be transported to the hotel and a lot of times, transportation doesn't come to them in a timely manner."
Check out the pickup area at any airport and you'll see pilots waiting for a ride to the hotel. Every minute of waiting time eats into sleep a pilot needs to function.
A lot of pilots say their sleep deprivation is constant. It's not just when they're on continuous duty overnights, but it is throughout their work schedule. They say they regularly fly on as little as four hours of sleep.
It's a problem, pilots say, that exists not just at Mesa, but every regional airline in the country.
