Narrative:

Crew exhaustion. Crew reported to ont at designated time. Inbound aircraft was 1 1/2 hours late and delay was not transmitted to crew at hotel so that rest could be extended. A gate hold of 1 hour was given to outbound aircraft, which was given at time of clearance. After hold time expired, crew taxied to end of departure runway where a takeoff delay was issued by ATC. During course of the night, more delays were encountered. This was an east coast crew on the west coast doing an evening trip. Time of arrival at the hotel at completion of the day's flying was early morning EST. The 2 legs were flown with less than total alertness required to fly high performance jet aircraft. Many tasks were completed with confusion. Frequencys were missed and a general 'fog' seemed to exist in the cockpit. The flight attendants later related that they were 'bumping into each other' also. It is impossible for an evening crew to sleep late at a hotel as noise on the floor generally starts around XA00 in the morning with housekeeping doing room checks, vacuuming, and speaking loudly, not to mention other guests letting the doors slam shut, etc. With crew bases coast-to-coast, there is no reason for an east coast crew to be flying evening trips on the west coast. Conversely, there is no reason for a west coast crew to be flying morning trips on the east coast, as they are getting up and out of bed at a time not in rhythm with their body clocks. The fatigue factor is just an accident waiting to happen.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FLT CREW OF B737-300 RPTS DEGRADED MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ACUITY DUE TO FATIGUE CAUSED BY FLT ASSIGNMENT OUTSIDE OF NORMAL CIRCADIAN RHYTHM PATTERN.

Narrative: CREW EXHAUSTION. CREW RPTED TO ONT AT DESIGNATED TIME. INBOUND ACFT WAS 1 1/2 HRS LATE AND DELAY WAS NOT XMITTED TO CREW AT HOTEL SO THAT REST COULD BE EXTENDED. A GATE HOLD OF 1 HR WAS GIVEN TO OUTBOUND ACFT, WHICH WAS GIVEN AT TIME OF CLRNC. AFTER HOLD TIME EXPIRED, CREW TAXIED TO END OF DEP RWY WHERE A TKOF DELAY WAS ISSUED BY ATC. DURING COURSE OF THE NIGHT, MORE DELAYS WERE ENCOUNTERED. THIS WAS AN EAST COAST CREW ON THE WEST COAST DOING AN EVENING TRIP. TIME OF ARR AT THE HOTEL AT COMPLETION OF THE DAY'S FLYING WAS EARLY MORNING EST. THE 2 LEGS WERE FLOWN WITH LESS THAN TOTAL ALERTNESS REQUIRED TO FLY HIGH PERFORMANCE JET ACFT. MANY TASKS WERE COMPLETED WITH CONFUSION. FREQS WERE MISSED AND A GENERAL 'FOG' SEEMED TO EXIST IN THE COCKPIT. THE FLT ATTENDANTS LATER RELATED THAT THEY WERE 'BUMPING INTO EACH OTHER' ALSO. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR AN EVENING CREW TO SLEEP LATE AT A HOTEL AS NOISE ON THE FLOOR GENERALLY STARTS AROUND XA00 IN THE MORNING WITH HOUSEKEEPING DOING ROOM CHKS, VACUUMING, AND SPEAKING LOUDLY, NOT TO MENTION OTHER GUESTS LETTING THE DOORS SLAM SHUT, ETC. WITH CREW BASES COAST-TO-COAST, THERE IS NO REASON FOR AN EAST COAST CREW TO BE FLYING EVENING TRIPS ON THE WEST COAST. CONVERSELY, THERE IS NO REASON FOR A WEST COAST CREW TO BE FLYING MORNING TRIPS ON THE EAST COAST, AS THEY ARE GETTING UP AND OUT OF BED AT A TIME NOT IN RHYTHM WITH THEIR BODY CLOCKS. THE FATIGUE FACTOR IS JUST AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.