Pilot fatigue may have contributed to near miss
Investigations into a near-disaster at Melbourne airport in March, 2009, suggest that pilot fatigue may have been a contributing factor. The take-off incident, during which the tail of an Emirates-run Airbus 340-500 repeatedly struck the ground, took place after cross-checks failed to pick up a miscalculation that calibrated performance systems...Read more
Drinkers unaware of impact of drinking on sleep
According to a survey conducted by the Know Your Limits campaign, many drinkers do not realise that alcohol can interfere with sleep. Of 2000 drinkers surveyed, 58 percent did not know that excessive drinking can exact an array of disruptive effects on sleep, although 45 percent of participants reported feeling...Read more
Australian men twice as likely to fall asleep driving
A study undertaken by an Australian insurer has found Australian men twice as likely to fall asleep at the wheel as women. According to research by AAMI, 72 percent of men would drive 2.5 hours or more without a break, compared to less than 60 percent of women. 30 percent...Read more
Cargloux launch web-based Fatigue Awareness and Countermeasures Training
Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, Cargolux, this week launches an online Fatigue Awareness and Countermeasures Training (FACT) programme designed to provide the company’s pilots with targeted, practical solutions for managing fatigue. The training was developed by UK-based fatigue risk management specialists, Clockwork Research, the company who helped easyJet to develop its...Read more
Fatigue blamed for Thai air crash
Fatigue and pilot error have been cited as central causes of a 2007 plane crash that killed 90 people in Phuket, Thailand. A newly-released investigation report from the Thailand Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) found that accumulated pilot fatigue brought about by poor scheduling was likely to have contributed to...Read more
Fatigue investigated in Buffalo air crash
A US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the crash of Continental connecting flight 3407 in February 2009 has heard that the co-pilot was not adequately rested before commencing duty. Investigators have cited fatigue as a likely contributor to the crash of the Dash 8 aircraft, operated by Colgan...Read more
Ship grounding renews maritime fatigue concerns
A report into the grounding of a cargo vessel off the coast off Antrim in Northern Ireland has renewed calls for measures to be taken to address fatigue in the maritime sector. The Antari ran aground north of Larne during a voyage from Corpach, Scotland to Belgium at 3.21 am...Read more
US professor calls for legislation to prosecute fatigued drivers
A prominent US sleep professor has called for explicit legislation to consistently recognise accidents caused by drowsy drivers as cases of gross negligence. Writing in the Washington Post, Professor Charles A Czeisler, Director of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has highlighted the inconsistent manner with which current laws have...Read more
Cold and flu linked to sleep quality
A newly-published US study has provided evidence to support the link between good-quality sleep and the ability to fight off colds and flu. Researchers based at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh infected healthy subjects with the cold-causing rhinovirus and compared the outcomes to sleep data compiled over the previous two...Read more
Pilots admit to falling asleep in the cockpit
Two go! Airlines pilots who overshot their destination and remained out of contact for 18 minutes admitted they had both fallen asleep. This comes despite the captain’s initial claim that their failure to respond to air traffic control had been due to selection of the incorrect radio frequency. The incident...Read more