 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
A commuter air carrier captain expressed his opinions about the airline's unsafe scheduling practices and their threats of discipline for pilots who exercise their responsibility to not fly when physically impaired due to fatigue induced by those practices.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 901688 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201007 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Regional Jet CL65 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Route In Use | Other N/A |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 215 Flight Crew Total 5300 Flight Crew Type 4800 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types |
Narrative:
Unsafe scheduling practices at my airline is pushing pilots to the limits of exhaustion and is using tactics to intimidate pilots into flying when it is unsafe to do so. Just because it may be 'legal' does not mean it is 'safe'! If the recent crash in buffalo cannot change the rules than this industry and its pilots are in serious trouble.today; I am scheduled to fly 8 legs with 'quick' turns with essentially zero down time; [from mid-afternoon to late into the night]. And will do the same for the next 5 days in a row. Our schedules are 6 days on 2 days off...repeatedly. Our short staffing is our company's responsibility; however; this means one pilot is flying and on duty that would ordinarily take 3 pilots to cover. In other words; one pilot is picking up the slack.our fatigue calls are at an alarming rate!!! In fact; if pilots call fatigue more than once they are issued verbal warnings; letters or are sent to company headquarters for meetings which are rarely safety consciousness oriented. Our pilots are professional airline pilots that deserve better. The flying public deserves better! Hopefully; someone with authority to make and implement regulations and policies will listen.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A commuter air carrier Captain expressed his opinions about the airline's unsafe scheduling practices and their threats of discipline for pilots who exercise their responsibility to not fly when physically impaired due to fatigue induced by those practices.
Narrative: Unsafe scheduling practices at my airline is pushing pilots to the limits of exhaustion and is using tactics to intimidate pilots into flying when it is UNSAFE to do so. Just because it may be 'LEGAL' does NOT mean it is 'SAFE'! If the recent crash in Buffalo cannot change the rules than this industry and its pilots are in serious trouble.Today; I am scheduled to fly 8 legs with 'quick' turns with essentially zero down time; [from mid-afternoon to late into the night]. And will do the same for the next 5 days in a row. Our schedules are 6 days on 2 days OFF...repeatedly. Our short staffing is our Company's responsibility; however; this means one pilot is flying and on duty that would ordinarily take 3 pilots to cover. In other words; one pilot is picking up the slack.Our FATIGUE calls are at an alarming rate!!! In fact; if pilots call FATIGUE more than once they are issued verbal warnings; letters or are sent to company headquarters for meetings which are rarely safety consciousness oriented. OUR PILOTS ARE PROFESSIONAL AIRLINE PILOTS THAT DESERVE BETTER. THE FLYING PUBLIC DESERVES BETTER! Hopefully; someone with authority to make and implement regulations and policies will listen.
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.