Thu, Sep 27, 2018
The Air Canada Pilots Association Calls On Canadian Government To Close The Two-Hour Gap To Protect Canadian Passengers
The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) has endorsed recommendations made by the U.S. NTSB, which calls on the Government of Canada to fix its outdated fatigue regulations to ensure the safety of Canada's passengers and pilots.
"We thank the NTSB for their comprehensive review," said Captain Matt Hogan, Chair of ACPA's Master Elected Council. "Their findings on fatigue underscore the many years of urgent calls by Canada's pilots for flight crew fatigue rules that are supported by science. The government's proposed rules fall short; they would allow Canadian pilots who begin their duty at 9 pm to operate two hours longer than NASA research recommends, and even long than would be permitted in the United States. Canada's new fatigue rules must close this two-hour gap."
NASA's Ames Research Center and others conducted research that measured brain wave activity and micro-sleeps of pilots in actual flight operations at night. This informed NASA's recommendation of a maximum night duty of 10 hours of duty – or 8.5 hours of flight time – at night, requiring a relief pilot for longer duty periods. These NASA recommendations were not reflected in the draft regulations released by Transport Canada on July 1, 2017.
ACPA has joined other pilot groups in calling on the Canadian government to stop years of delays and fix the flawed regulations, including by taking the following steps:
- Address pilot fatigue on long-haul flights at night by limiting duty periods for flights in the evening to 8.5 hours of flight time – in line with NASA research findings;
- Ensure that any Fatigue Risk Management System relies on science-based prescriptive limits as a foundation, requiring independently verifiable data and stringent Transport Canada approval and oversight before deviating from the maximum duty period; and,
- Pilots on all sizes of aircraft – whether they carry passengers or cargo – should have the same protective fatigue limits, implemented at the same time.
ACPA formed the Safer Skies coalition in 2017, bringing together the voices of 9,000 airline pilots in Canada who work every day to keep their passengers and the skies safe.
(Source: ACPA news release)
More News
Hold Procedure A predetermined maneuver which keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control. Also used during ground operatio>[...]
Altitude Readout An aircraft’s altitude, transmitted via the Mode C transponder feature, that is visually displayed in 100-foot increments on a radar scope having readout cap>[...]
Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]
Also: Skydio Chief, Uncle Sam Sues, Dash 7 magniX, OR UAS Accelerator US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]