A Tiring Battle: Pilot Rest

In February, 2009, a small commuter aircraft crashed near Buffalo, New York. The flight, operated by Colgan Airlines, was piloted by an extremely fatigued crew. The first officer was even sick, and regularly commuted from the east coast to the west coast just to begin her work day. The families of the 50 people who perished were outraged, lobbying congress to immediately take action to change the industry and prevent other accidents from pilot fatigue.

In addition to increasing the minimum flight requirements for airline pilots, rest rules and regulations for commercial pilots were also revised in the wake of the Colgan Airlines accident. The new regulations require airline pilots to have at least ten hours of rest between their shifts, eight hours of which must be used for uninterrupted sleep (Trejos, 2014). Trejos (2014) also reveals that airline pilots are now limited to eight or nine hours of flight time and nine to fourteen hour duty periods, depending on when they are scheduled to fly as well as how many time zones the pilots will cross. The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Michael Huerta, reveals that these new rules provide, "pilots enough time to get the rest they really need to safely get passengers to their destinations" ("Feds," 2011). The previous generation of rest regulations required pilots to have have a minimum of only eight hours between flying shifts with no requirement for uninterrupted sleep (Trejos, 2014). In other words, the previous regulations allowed pilots to use their eight hours to eat, shop, and explore, instead of appropriating some of the time for sleep only.

Interestingly, cargo pilots were excluded from the new pilot rest regulations, which took effect in January, 2014. While airline pilots are only allowed up to nine hours of flight time, cargo pilots are able to fly for up to sixteen hours (Pegues, 2015). Not only are cargo pilots working longer hours, but they are typically flying during night hours; the critical time period when the body is seeking sleep. Pegues (2015) also describes a report from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) which reveals that the air cargo industry would lose $13.6 billion and 7,000 jobs if the same rest rules for airline pilots were implemented. Consequently, major cargo carriers like UPS are trying to prevent the rules from taking effect while pilot unions at these companies are lobbying the FAA to implement them. The cargo pilot unions argue that cargo pilots face the same fatigue as airline pilots, and that the safety repercussions are just as serious (Trejos, 2014).

I think that cargo pilots have been excluded from these rules for purely monetary reasons. I think that the major cargo companies in the United States convinced congress that it would simply cost them too many jobs and too much money to implement the changes. Since cargo aircraft do not carry passengers, the public and congress perceive less risk. What they fail to realize is that a cargo aircraft plummeting to the ground is just as catastrophic as a passenger aircraft accident. The FAA seems to be united with these cargo carriers, as they note implementing the rules would cost cargo carriers another $214 million ("Feds," 2014).  

I do not agree with cargo carriers and the FAA on this issue. Cargo pilots are just as fatigued, if not more fatigued, than airline pilots. They are operating the same equipment, conducting the same job, and flying to the same airports as airline pilots, just with fewer occupants on-board. The fact that fewer lives are at stake on cargo aircraft is not an excuse. A large commercial aircraft, cargo or passenger, can wreak havoc on any city or industrial area. It makes no difference if the aircraft is full of people or packages; fatigue is still a danger for cargo pilots. I feel the FAA has done a poor job of managing this issue from a safety standpoint, valuing lost jobs and cost over real safety hazards.

From a pilot perspective, I think cargo pilots would welcome the new rest rules. A better rested pilot is more apt to perform optimally in every flying scenario. Especially given the fact that cargo pilots are flying through the night hours, the extra rest time would significantly increase the amount of quality sleep that these pilots could get. The bottom line is that cargo pilots are dealing with the same hazards and duties as airline pilots, and thus should be allotted the same rest regulations to promote safety across the board.

References

Feds extend pilots' rest time to avoid fatigue. (2011, December 21). Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-extend-pilots-rest-time-to-avoid-fatigue/

Pegues, J. (2015, February 24). Investigation: Why are cargo pilots excluded from new rest rules? Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/investigation-why-are-cargo-pilots-excluded-from-new-rest-rules/

Trejos, N. (2014, January 3). New pilot fatigue rules go into effect this weekend. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2014/01/03/pilot-fatigue-mandatory-rest-new-faa-rules/4304417/