Training Tip: Got rest?
A half-hour nap can be very refreshing—but taking it while acting as the sole pilot of an aircraft in flight is not recommended.
Setting aside the snooze, it was a “fairly routine” flight, according to the charter pilot of a Beech 1900 turboprop who “became aware” that 30 minutes had slipped by once he had dozed off shortly after getting established on course.
Fortunately, once the drowsy pilot regained bearings, the landing at the destination was accomplished “without further event,” according to the report the pilot filed with the Aviation Safety Reporting System.
Brief though it was, the ASRS report paints a vivid picture of the disorientation a pilot can experience once overcome by fatigue (which is represented by the letter F in the precautionary mnemonic “I’m Safe”). Although slumber had come quickly after leveling off and flying a vector direct to the destination as assigned by air traffic control, waking up was hard to do.
“I became aware [I had fallen asleep] and was highly disoriented. It took me a minute to analyze my position and contact the appropriate ATC frequency,” said the report.
Getting enough sleep may not be the only insurance against fatigue. Suppose you’re plenty rested but you are starting to come down with something.
That’s a flashing red light too: After slipping into a snooze in a control tower, insensate to aircraft that were attempting to make contact, an air traffic controller reported to the ASRS that “I did not respond for 35 minutes as I may have been asleep in the tower due to fatigue brought on by an impending cold. After I responded, the aircraft received clearance and departed.”
There are many more examples, often characterized by similarly sudden onset.
“Fatigue continues to be one of the most insidious hazards to flight safety, as it may not be apparent to a pilot until serious errors are made,” notes the discussion of risk management in the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.
Don’t let it sneak up on you.
