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Study: Long commutes could fatigue airline pilots
WASHINGTON (AP) — One in five airline pilots lives at least 750 miles from work, according to a study by scientific advisers to the government, raising concerns that long commutes to airports could lea . . . (flightaware.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Dmanual and Wayne, you are both correct about long distance busdrivers. I worked for one company for over 25 years, where my next depot for driver change was located more than 400 miles from my home terminal. We had several senior drivers who lived in excess of 100 miles from that far terminal and regularly commutted on their own company buses to their pickup points which added another two hours to their trip. But, because of a technicality in that they were not actually driving (and the fact that they were senior operators_ the company turned a blind eye on this practice. Fortunatley, in the time I was there, there were no fatigue related accidents but they were there in the wings, waiting to happen! NTSB regulations have since changed but at that time, a driver was not allowed to be driving for more than ten hours no be on duty for more tham 14 hours.
Dmanual & Wayne are both right in regard to their comments about bus drivers. I have been long retired from over the road driving, with my home terminal being over 400 miles from where my relief driver picked up my coach and took it on. We had several senior drivers who picked these well paying runs that took approximately 9-10 hours, (since at that time we were paid by the mile) yet they lived in excess of one hundred miles from their terminals, necessitating at least a two hour commute by scheduled bus to either pick up their bus or face the two hour ride home. NTSB regulations state no driver shall be on duty driving in excess of 10 hours except in case of unforseen emergencey yet the scheduled time between the two terminals was, as I said before, 9-10 hours so these drivers were in violation of hours of service constantly since they often just sat in the drivers room waiting for their trip for a few hours, or just arrived from home in time to pull their trip, This went on for some time as the drivers involved had good seniority and the company turned a blind eye on what they were doing. Fortunately, in the 25 years I worked for said company, there were no fatigue related accidents on those trips but I did know of some close calls during inclement weather, when evryone should have their proper rest before starting out.
@Dennis levens , , , , , , of what do you speak ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Pamela: it's not as bad as it sounds because most folks will use a little common sense and get the needed rest. It is a very common practice. If your flight originates at O'Hare, you just can't assume that the crew is from there. They may have commuted in OR, they just may be dispatched out of another terminal. A perfect example would be Ft Smith AR. The crew that comes in on the last night flight on DAL lays over and spends the night at the Holiday Inn on the company tab, then gets called for the early AM flight out, but they may be based elsewhere and just working their time wherever a hub OPS send them, then routed back into their base. They may be based out of Memphis, but they may live elsewhere, say Birmingham.They would then grab a flight out of Memphis home. Living in Bham, same is true coming to work; grab a flight in and start their week.
@ Pamela, yes I believe you are overly concerned for no reason. Air travel is statistically safer than driving a car.
@ Wayne, evenly a weekly commute is tough on family, especially if kids are involved. Been there done that. :-0
@ Wayne, evenly a weekly commute is tough on family, especially if kids are involved. Been there done that. :-0
Reading these comments makes it seem dangerous to fly in any commercial aircraft at any time. Are my fears exaggerated?