Sleep is Crucial For Pilots

It's up to each pilot—GA, airline, cargo, or otherwise—to monitor and control their habits to get enough rest.

Michael Wildes

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 09:07 AM ET

Verified

Sleepy pilots aren't good for anybody. [File Photo: Adobestock]

Key Takeaways:

Pilot fatigue is a widespread and increasing safety concern across aviation, exacerbated by post-pandemic stresses and airline staffing issues, leading to protests from commercial pilots.
Mandatory rest rules are inconsistent, leaving cargo and general aviation pilots with fewer protections and higher fatigue-related accident rates compared to passenger airline pilots.
Addressing pilot fatigue requires both industry-wide structural reforms (e.g., equalizing rest rules for cargo pilots) and individual pilot education on sleep hygiene and personal fatigue risk management.

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The Flight Safety Foundation recently published its Annual Safety Report, which measures the causes of incidents and accidents in the previous year. While it covers the obvious numbers—such as loss of control in flight, controlled flight into terrain, and runway mishaps as leading causes of incidents and accidents across aviation operations—what caught my attention was the focus on pilot wellness.

Specifically, the report spotlights the state of mind of the pilots it surveyed as related to sleep and fatigue. At this point, I’m sure no one is surprised that the pandemic added to the burden pilots had to bear to do their jobs, but it is surprising just how universally tired pilots are.