Originally Posted by
ComairFO
Perhaps I am being frank, but if you are so tired that napping on the floor of a terminal (in uniform) is your only resort, I think you should be calling in fatigued. If not at that time, then later on in the day when the fatigue you are trying to prevent finally catches up to you.
That being said, pilot fatigue is a serious problem. I am glad the media is finally catching wind of this--though it's doubtful it will lead to anything, at least not until more people are killed as a result of fatigue issues.
Hmmm, have to admit I've napped on the floor of an airport in uniform. I've also called in fatigued a couple of times this year. My biggest gripe is that people don't call in sick/fatigued more often. If people choose to fly when they're too tired or sick, then management thinks the people that do call in are the oddballs and are more likely to question whether the calls are honest or not. It's just the way the human body works though. Two days ago I was hand flying a raw data ILS down to 1400RVR (was 1800 when we started it and flight vis was determined to be legal to land) and pulled into the gate at my 15th hour on duty (Worked from 1855 til approximately 0950 with no sleep due to mx delays and bad weather). Was I tired? Actually I was ok. Made the half hour drive home from the airport and was still up a couple of hours after that before sleeping the rest of the day away. On another day I might fly 4 legs and be on duty for 6 hours and be drowsy as hell at the end of that day.
I'm not sure what my point is, but I think I'm trying to say that if you're tired, call in fatigued. The more calls people make, the more people might understand how real the problem is. If we all keep hiding it to avoid punishment, it gets us nowhere. Plus, legally, it's your responsibility to call in fatigued if you are. My $9,000/yr job is not worth risking my life, nor that of my passengers. Plus if the airline wants to run as lean as they do on staffing, these are the side effects. I dunno, maybe I'm too radical.