Cable Forum - View Single Post - Are tired pilots compromising our safety?

Stuart · 27-06-2007, 14:16

The problem is that with the increasingly low prices people are expecting to pay for air travel (which are falling far faster than the costs), airlines will cut corners.

One way they can do this is to ensure that their planes and pilots are on the ground for as little time as possible. One obvious side effect of this is that pilots may not be getting as much relaxation time as they really need.

However, when on the flight deck, it should be OK for one pilot to take a nap, as long as the other is awake to cope with any emergencies the autopilot can't.

We had all better pray they haven't cut maintenance back as far as Micheal Crichton hints in his book, Airframe. I don't think they have, although I suspect they have cut it back as far as they can legally.

27-06-2007, 14:16	#17
Stuart - Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Somewhere Services: Virgin for TV and Internet, BT for phone Posts: 26,546	Re: Are tired pilots compromising our safety? The problem is that with the increasingly low prices people are expecting to pay for air travel (which are falling far faster than the costs), airlines will cut corners. One way they can do this is to ensure that their planes and pilots are on the ground for as little time as possible. One obvious side effect of this is that pilots may not be getting as much relaxation time as they really need. However, when on the flight deck, it should be OK for one pilot to take a nap, as long as the other is awake to cope with any emergencies the autopilot can't. We had all better pray they haven't cut maintenance back as far as Micheal Crichton hints in his book, Airframe. I don't think they have, although I suspect they have cut it back as far as they can legally.