Hi everyone, I am writing a research paper for my English class on the effects of pilot fatigue and what can be done/has been done to prevent it. If you have an opinion, please reply to this post- I would love to use your quote in my paper! This will be very helpful for me as I would have (an) opinion(s) from Pilot(s) that deal with this issue. A regional pilot and commercial pilot would be awesome! Or if you just have a strong opinion on anything related to this topic please post!
Don’t know when your paper is due but for what it’s worth, the simplistic approach of check only one party indicates the lack of public awareness of all the issues pertinent to the question. The pilots want more time off. The unions want what the pilots want. The company wants everyone but management to work 24/7 but they know they can’t get away with it. The FAA wants everybody to get along because they can’t manage a system that they created but has outgrown them. The other would be the utopia of the press, all knowing consultants who can’t fasten a seat belt and wall street pundits who can’t see anything but the net gain/loss. The reality of of the airline buisness is much deeper than a short paper and crew duty times have been the subject of every airline contract negotion since the first airline union was ratified. The Buffalo commuter crash has certainly stirred up a hornets nest of duty time controversy, but the reality of that crash is lack of experience, poor training, poor cockpit procedures, and plain old poor airmanship. As a former part 135 freight pilot in old Learjets, the schedule was grueling at best, but you didn’t get in the door without a reasonable amount of experience and the recommendation of someone who had a clue as to WTF was going on. The accident record speaks for itself. They have modified the duty time rules, but the occasional idiot will still crash an airplane and they will revisit crew rest, commuting, training ad nauseum. Things move, sometimes they crash.
