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UPS pilots complained of fatigue before fatal A300 crash
The two UPS pilots killed in a crash in Birmingham, Alabama, complained of fatigue just before the accident, according to the Wall Street Journal. The report says the cockpit voice recorder on the UPS Airbus A300 captured Captain Cerea Beal and first officer Shanda Fanning discussing how tired they were while in flight. (airguideonline.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
If fatigue was discussed, then the crew should have briefed to watch each other for any signs and taken anti-fatigue measures. A few deep drags on the O2 mask @ 100% usually worked for me and a quick jerk on the controls while exclaiming "Oh @&it!" got the other pilot's attention going again. The boxes won't complain.
Back side of the clock flying was once known as the red eye flights. Don't see too much of that, vis a vis, the air carriers these days. Freight is another story. In my days of freight flying in the venerable, lowly esteemed Lear 20's and Falcon 20's, that was the norm. In my experience, as a part timer with no schedule, caffeine and adrenaline kept you going, or you crashed. Didn't happen that often. Usually they crashed because they were dip s--ts. This crew flew for UPS. Back side of the clock, the norm. Rats or no rats, CFIT is a clear and concise crew error, absent any mechanical failure. If you didn't want to fly in bad weather, or at night, somebody else would. It's called a job. They had one. If you don't bitch about it, you probably aint got one. I guess it might go without saying, all my freight flying was 135, with some very loose duty time rules in 1987-----.
UPS and FedEx are both on the back side of the clock as well as a host of smaller ones and those are well known work times before you sign on. Sure they pay the big bucks and sure, that is grueling over the course of time, BUT, cargo and parcel, by it's very nature, moves at night. The times won't change in spite of all the ALPA protests and safety committees. It is what it is and all the gripeing in the world won't change it. No fun but you can't have it both ways. As you say, gripe and leave it and someone else will do it. That's just life.
Here's an older crankyflier post that discusses the change in the pilot rest rules, the carve out for cargo, and the adverse impact particularly on smaller cities that are served mostly with short hops, and the regional airliners that service them, as the work hours decrease with the number of legs worked in the day.
http://crankyflier.com/2012/01/02/new-pilot-rest-rules-may-be-good-but-cargo-pilots-and-small-cities-should-be-worried/
Although, I'd expect that if total duty hours and so total hours flown per day are decreased, then pilots who fly lots of short hops (eg. regional airline pilots) will work shorter days, but would work more days to reach their allowed total work hours and/or the hours needed to pay their bills/ maintain their lifestyle.
The plane needs to stay in service for as many hours as possible in a day. So if pilots' hours are limited per day, the airline will need to use more crews per day. But pilots will also then need to work more days.
http://crankyflier.com/2012/01/02/new-pilot-rest-rules-may-be-good-but-cargo-pilots-and-small-cities-should-be-worried/
Although, I'd expect that if total duty hours and so total hours flown per day are decreased, then pilots who fly lots of short hops (eg. regional airline pilots) will work shorter days, but would work more days to reach their allowed total work hours and/or the hours needed to pay their bills/ maintain their lifestyle.
The plane needs to stay in service for as many hours as possible in a day. So if pilots' hours are limited per day, the airline will need to use more crews per day. But pilots will also then need to work more days.
Well then...
Thanks to the FAA and Companies that talk safety but when it comes to crew
scheduling don't walk the walk - most pilots are at least challenged to stay
alert and conduct safe flight operations. Pt 121 freight operations are being
conducted at most 50% of the time with adequate rest and fully safe and
professionally.