Narrative:

This is report three of a series of three for the day's flying. We operated this flight after flying two legs that had event sets. We got into this airport about 40 minutes behind schedule. The day's flying was built for efficiency; no prolonged breaks; no long sits; arriving at or about the time most food facilities are closing down; getting into our ron station at about the beginning of the window of circadian low (wocl). The delays from the previous leg that were due to a passenger issue and weather pushed the day even longer. Our aircraft for last flight was delayed by the same weather we had just experienced and that we were going to go back through and came in from a midwest airport. Scheduled departure time was xa:17. We blocked out at xb:00; approximately 2300 for our body clocks. I was aware at arrival in at this intermediate airport that the day's events were going to take a toll. I went for a walk to get rid of some of the residual chemistry of fatigue and perk myself up. I found a food vendor that I could purchase a muffin; a bag of potato chips and an orange from. There were other opportunities to eat during the day so it wasn't a case of nourishment. I needed some quick energy release food to help maintain alertness for this 1 plus 29 flight. I used the same techniques that athletes use when training for an event; walking/pacing out; breathing exercises; not overeating; drinking enough water in small amounts throughout the day. I used some caffeine but in very small quantity. I had a cup of coffee at about noon; and I had one full can of diet coke about three hours prior to this flight. Arrival weather at this airport was a significant factor. We had found moderate turbulence on our descent. The same turbulence was waiting for us as we departed. We avoided the intense part of the storms by weaving across the outbound course. When we finally were able to go direct we found winds at our altitude in excess of 30 KTS above forecast for any altitude (FL230 wind on nd was 210@105). These winds were associated with the weather. I noticed that I was becoming shorter and more abrupt in my direction to first officer. As one becomes fatigued; communication skills erode and this was an early indicator. The problem is that both he and I had been awake since early in the day. I woke up about mid morning and had a 'lazy; lounging' morning. I rested; relaxed; sat at my computer for a while; paid a few bills; but I did not even dress for work until just before going to work. My first officer; however; has two small children that are awake early before sun up. He did not get a nap or any lounge time before beginning this day's adventures. The real challenge of this job is trying to make it all work out even with limited or declining resources. The most important resource is pilot alertness; once that is lost; displaced; slips away due to intruding thoughts; activities or other businesses the burden on the remaining pilot increases ten-fold at least. I'm sure I've been on the donor side of the coin in the past. But this night I was the person carrying the load. I might have been snappy with my first officer in my remarks and more directive than exhortative; nice way of saying I ordered; I didn't ask. But I was aware that we were both declining in our alertness. Another thing that happens is selective hearing. Stuff gets missed; or you think you heard what you didn't hear or you hear what you want to hear. We were very careful to double and triple check what was said by controllers. It isn't easy when you are too tired to think. The flight attendants made only a couple of very simple requests. Unfortunately we had been dealing all day with a call chime that had bad news at the other end and problems to solve. I asked my first officer to handle all interactions with the in-flight crew because I was very likely to snap at them. Every time the call chime went off I was 'jumpy' and irritated byit. The last flight operation was without incident. We performed a flaps 2 toga takeoff and made a turn to heading 260 as part of weather avoidance techniques. We delayed rotation until 151 KTS; the vr for our runway limit; only an additional 10 KTS. We kept the flight attendants down until about FL260 and well clear of the storms. We did all of this but it felt disconnected to me. I am writing this report the day after and have an awareness that if not for the training; if not for the years of experience; if not for a long list of excellent mentors and conditioning for this type of event over the years; it wouldn't have come off as smoothly as it did because the part of my brain that has self-awareness; was not fully operating at the time. I was overly dependent on automation; and so tired that I wasn't able to accurately assess my own condition. Arrival at ron station was also uneventful but having that disconnected quality about it. On taxi in to gate I noticed my visual acuity was 'bottoming out.' I couldn't make out the large lettering for the gate; the large white sign on the top of the jetbridge; until I was relatively close. When visual acuity begins to deteriorate; that is a bad thing. The timing was pretty much perfect for completion of a flight without incident. But fatigue had fully set in. We arrived at the hotel in a timely fashion; and the first officer's phone rang. It was obvious that his day was far from over; so we said goodnight and I headed for bed. I woke up the next morning at xa:30 local; xb:30 local and then at xd:00. I wrote the first two reports and went down to breakfast at xg:00 am. I went for a short walk and then took a one hour nap. I wrote this report at about xm:39; just prior to the original departure time. As I was hastily preparing to load up and check out; the phone rang. Today will not be a good day either; we are delayed one hour plus forty already. Back through the weather; pickup time will also be delayed. I am almost back to full capacity; but I can tell that it will be about two more days before the fogginess is fully gone. I live locally at my domicile. I do so because I commuted in the past and I understand a commuter's pain. It is a far easier life being very close to the airport. It makes pairings like this one much easier to handle. The reality of fatigue mitigation is it must be planned for by the individual. No amount of rule or policy making will make fatigue go away. That's my fatigue report. I hope I've provided you with useful data. Besides having some sort of objective way to determine fatigue levels; we need fatigue mitigation training that is more than a page in our recurrent training. It needs to be a presentation that is visual and holds our attention. We need further conditioning to manage fatigue if we are going to continue to fly our current ambitious schedule.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 Captain reported feeling fatigued by a combination of preflight delays; weather; and passenger issues. The reporter suggested fatigue mitigation training be developed to help pilots maintain alertness when emotional and circadian factors begin wearing them down.

Narrative: This is report three of a series of three for the day's flying. We operated this flight after flying two legs that had event sets. We got into this airport about 40 minutes behind schedule. The day's flying was built for efficiency; no prolonged breaks; no long sits; arriving at or about the time most food facilities are closing down; getting into our RON station at about the beginning of the window of circadian low (WOCL). The delays from the previous leg that were due to a passenger issue and weather pushed the day even longer. Our aircraft for last flight was delayed by the same weather we had just experienced and that we were going to go back through and came in from a Midwest airport. Scheduled departure time was XA:17. We blocked out at XB:00; approximately 2300 for our body clocks. I was aware at arrival in at this intermediate airport that the day's events were going to take a toll. I went for a walk to get rid of some of the residual chemistry of fatigue and perk myself up. I found a food vendor that I could purchase a muffin; a bag of potato chips and an orange from. There were other opportunities to eat during the day so it wasn't a case of nourishment. I needed some quick energy release food to help maintain alertness for this 1 plus 29 flight. I used the same techniques that athletes use when training for an event; walking/pacing out; breathing exercises; not overeating; drinking enough water in small amounts throughout the day. I used some caffeine but in very small quantity. I had a cup of coffee at about noon; and I had one full can of Diet Coke about three hours prior to this flight. Arrival weather at this airport was a significant factor. We had found moderate turbulence on our descent. The same turbulence was waiting for us as we departed. We avoided the intense part of the storms by weaving across the outbound course. When we finally were able to go direct we found winds at our altitude in excess of 30 KTS above forecast for any altitude (FL230 wind on ND was 210@105). These winds were associated with the weather. I noticed that I was becoming shorter and more abrupt in my direction to first officer. As one becomes fatigued; communication skills erode and this was an early indicator. The problem is that both he and I had been awake since early in the day. I woke up about mid morning and had a 'lazy; lounging' morning. I rested; relaxed; sat at my computer for a while; paid a few bills; but I did not even dress for work until just before going to work. My First Officer; however; has two small children that are awake early before sun up. He did not get a nap or any lounge time before beginning this day's adventures. The real challenge of this job is trying to make it all work out even with limited or declining resources. The most important resource is pilot alertness; once that is lost; displaced; slips away due to intruding thoughts; activities or other businesses the burden on the remaining pilot increases ten-fold at least. I'm sure I've been on the donor side of the coin in the past. But this night I was the person carrying the load. I might have been snappy with my First Officer in my remarks and more directive than exhortative; nice way of saying I ordered; I didn't ask. But I was aware that we were both declining in our alertness. Another thing that happens is selective hearing. Stuff gets missed; or you think you heard what you didn't hear or you hear what you want to hear. We were very careful to double and triple check what was said by controllers. It isn't easy when you are too tired to think. The flight attendants made only a couple of very simple requests. Unfortunately we had been dealing all day with a call chime that had bad news at the other end and problems to solve. I asked my First Officer to handle all interactions with the in-flight crew because I was very likely to snap at them. Every time the call chime went off I was 'jumpy' and irritated byit. The last flight operation was without incident. We performed a flaps 2 TOGA takeoff and made a turn to heading 260 as part of weather avoidance techniques. We delayed rotation until 151 KTS; the Vr for our runway limit; only an additional 10 KTS. We kept the flight attendants down until about FL260 and well clear of the storms. We did all of this but it felt disconnected to me. I am writing this report the day after and have an awareness that if not for the training; if not for the years of experience; if not for a long list of excellent mentors and conditioning for this type of event over the years; it wouldn't have come off as smoothly as it did because the part of my brain that has self-awareness; was not fully operating at the time. I was overly dependent on automation; and so tired that I wasn't able to accurately assess my own condition. Arrival at RON station was also uneventful but having that disconnected quality about it. On taxi in to gate I noticed my visual acuity was 'bottoming out.' I couldn't make out the large lettering for the gate; the large white sign on the top of the jetbridge; until I was relatively close. When visual acuity begins to deteriorate; that is a bad thing. The timing was pretty much perfect for completion of a flight without incident. But fatigue had fully set in. We arrived at the hotel in a timely fashion; and the First Officer's phone rang. It was obvious that his day was far from over; so we said goodnight and I headed for bed. I woke up the next morning at XA:30 local; XB:30 local and then at XD:00. I wrote the first two reports and went down to breakfast at XG:00 am. I went for a short walk and then took a one hour nap. I wrote this report at about XM:39; just prior to the original departure time. As I was hastily preparing to load up and check out; the phone rang. Today will not be a good day either; we are delayed one hour plus forty already. Back through the weather; pickup time will also be delayed. I am almost back to full capacity; but I can tell that it will be about two more days before the fogginess is fully gone. I live locally at my domicile. I do so because I commuted in the past and I understand a commuter's pain. It is a far easier life being very close to the airport. It makes pairings like this one much easier to handle. The reality of fatigue mitigation is it must be planned for by the individual. No amount of rule or policy making will make fatigue go away. That's my fatigue report. I hope I've provided you with useful data. Besides having some sort of objective way to determine fatigue levels; we need fatigue mitigation training that is more than a page in our recurrent training. It needs to be a presentation that is visual and holds our attention. We need further conditioning to manage fatigue if we are going to continue to fly our current ambitious schedule.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.