Researcher requests pilot fatigue reports

Daniel Schmale, an engineer and psychologist based in Georgia, is writing a doctoral dissertation on how pilots experience mental fatigue during cruise flight, when the aircraft is typically trimmed and autopilot engaged. Schmale hopes to gather data from pilots—including general aviation pilots—that will shed light on an issue that has not been extensively studied. Research to date mostly focuses on reports from airline crews, Schmale wrote in a description of his effort. The anonymous online survey will be open until November 30, and takes about eight minutes to complete. Pilots who are 18 years old or older, holding any certificate other than student pilot or remote pilot, are invited to participate.

Surveys of airline crews in Europe, Australia, and Asia suggest the mental fatigue that can build during cruise flight, when workload is generally lowest, is a significant problem: About three out of four pilots reported high or severe fatigue.

"The study examines how much mental fatigue pilots experience during cruise and what drives it: sleep the night before, time of day, duty length, workload and boredom. Multi-crew pilots are also asked how they rest during cruise," Schmale wrote.