FAA & Fatigue, Part II

Air Safety Week, June 30, 2008

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says fatigue can affect aviation operations and now is the time to do something about it. But the U.S. aviation agency doesn't offer a concrete plan for action.

The FAA's first aviation fatigue symposium, which ran from June 17 through 19, brought together 325 experts from industry, government and academia to share the most current information on fatigue and discuss possible fatigue management strategies and best practices.

The three main symposium objectives were to: provide the most current information on fatigue physiology, management, and mitigation alternatives; develop a common understanding of fatigue issues and identify challenges; and, forge collaborative alliances to initiate actionable mitigation strategies.

The participants looked at issues affecting flight and cabin crews, air traffic controllers, technicians, mechanics, dispatchers and ramp workers.

Attendees included representatives of domestic and foreign air carriers, aviation associations, aircraft manufacturers, academia and government air safety organizations. But the symposium was closed to the public and media despite increased interest in the subject.

The first day of the conference featured a comprehensive review of the factors contributing to fatigue in flight operations and air traffic control by researchers from the National Transportation Safety Board. Other sessions covered evidence for fatigue in flight, air traffic, maintenance and ramp operations, and what many experts consider the key to addressing the problem: scientifically based fatigue risk management systems.

Day Two included presentations on the current state of fatigue management from organizations as varied as the FAA, airlines, NAVCANADA and university scientists.

NTSB experts discussed operational factors contributing to fatigue during flight operations and in the air traffic control towers. Much of the time was devoted to development and implementation of fatigue risk management systems (FRMS).

Other sessions looked at the effects of fatigue on long-haul flights and fatigue issues related to shift work. The three-day session concluded with a group discussion on future fatigue mitigation initiatives.

The evidence and scientific research presented at the symposium served as the background for discussion groups that covered international long-haul operations, domestic operations, air traffic control and technical operations, and maintenance.

Conference attendees generally agreed that fatigue mitigation must be based on scientific principles developed through enhanced data collection. They also emphasized the necessity for government and industry to develop a culture that does not penalize employees who stay away from work due to fatigue.

The aviation agency says "the conferees recognize that incorporating fatigue risk management systems into everyday operations is the ultimate goal, but doing so will take innovation in addressing a myriad of regulatory issues.

"The FAA hopes the participants and their organizations will use the information and concepts shared during the symposium as a springboard to develop effective fatigue management strategies," it added.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently urged the FAA to take steps to manage pilot fatigue, which the Safety Board cited as factors in two non-fatal regional jet mishaps in 2007 and one incident earlier this year.

The Safety Board advised the FAA to develop guidance, based on empirical and scientific evidence, for operators to establish fatigue management systems, including information about the content and implementation of these systems.

The NTSB also drafted an advisement for the U.S. aviation agency to develop and use methodology that will continually assess the effectiveness of fatigue management systems implemented by operators, including their ability to improve sleep and alertness, mitigate performance errors, and prevent incidents and accidents.

Robert Sumwalt, vice chairman of the NTSB, said in keynoting the event that it's time to act to reduce aviation accidents and incidents caused by fatigue. "Fatigue is real and it does affect safety," he told the assembled aviation safety professionals.

He said "fatigue in aviation kills," noting that during the last 15 years, fatigue has been associated with over 250 fatalities in air carrier accidents investigated by the NTSB and has led to countless general aviation fatalities. Fatigue has been on NTSB's Most Wanted List since 1990.

The former airline pilot said "fatigue is not something you can overcome with coffee and willpower, adding that "we still have not made significant changes to adequately address fatigue in aviation."

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