Comments Open On Proposed Changes Based On 'Sleep Science'. Flight Duty Time, Joint Responsibility, Training Emphasized

The FAA has released its NPRM for proposed rules dealing with pilot fatigue. The 90-page document published in the Federal Register is crafted to address fatigue among airline pilots. The sweeping new proposal seeks to amend its existing flight, duty and rest regulations by setting new standards for flight time, duty and rest requirements, as well as fatigue training and mitigation.

“This proposal is a significant enhancement for aviation safety,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a September 10th press statement. “Both pilots and passengers will benefit from these proposed rules that will continue to ensure the safety of our nation’s air transportation system.”

Last year, Secretary LaHood and Administrator Babbitt highlighted pilot fatigue as a top priority during the Airline Safety Call to Action following the crash of Colgan Air 3407 in February 2009. Administrator Babbitt launched an aggressive effort to take advantage of the latest research on fatigue to create a new pilot flight, duty and rest proposal.

The proposal, according the FAA, is compatible with provisions in the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, which directs the FAA to issue a regulation no later than August 1, 2011, to specify limitations on the hours of pilot flight and duty time to address problems relating to pilot fatigue.

The proposal also recognizes the growing similarities between the types of operations and the universality of factors that lead to fatigue in most individuals. Fatigue threatens aviation safety because it increases the risk of pilot error that could lead to an accident. The new requirements, if adopted, would eliminate the current distinctions between domestic, flag and supplemental operations. The proposal provides different requirements based on the time of day, whether an individual is acclimated to a new time zone, and the likelihood of being able to sleep under different circumstances.

The proposal defines “flight duty” as the period of time when a pilot reports for duty with the intention of flying an aircraft, operating a simulator or operating a flight training device. A pilot’s entire duty period can include both “flight duty” and other tasks that do not involve flight time, such as record keeping and ground training.

As stated in the NPRM itself, the FAA believes its current regulations do not adequately address the risk of fatigue. "Presently, flightcrew members are effectively allowed to work up to 16 hours a day, with all of that time spent on tasks directly related to aircraft operations. The regulatory requirement for nine hours of rest is regularly reduced, with flightcrew members spending rest time traveling to or from hotels and being provided with little to no time to decompress."

"Additionally, certificate holders regularly exceed the allowable duty periods by conducting flights under part 91 instead of part 121, where the applicable flight, duty and rest requirements are housed. As the NTSB repeatedly notes, the FAA’s regulations do not account for the impact of circadian rhythms on alertness, and the entire set of regulations is overly complicated, with a different set of regulations for domestic operations, flag operations, and supplemental operations."

The FAA proposes to set a nine-hour minimum opportunity for rest prior to the duty period, a one-hour increase over the current rules. The proposed rule would establish a new method for measuring a pilot’s rest period, so that the pilot can have the chance to receive at least eight hours of sleep during that rest period. Cumulative fatigue would be addressed by placing weekly and 28-day limits on the amount of time a pilot may be assigned any type of duty.

Additionally, 28-day and annual limits would be placed on flight time. Pilots would have to be given at least 30 consecutive hours free from duty on a weekly basis, a 25 percent increase over the current rules.

The NPRM goes on to state "fatigue mitigation is a joint responsibility of the certificate holder and the flightcrew member." The proposal says it recognizes the need to hold both certificate holders and pilots responsible for ensuring flightcrew members are "working a reasonable number of hours, getting sufficient sleep, and not reporting for flight duty in an unsafe condition."

While most of this will be likely settled in the context of labor relations management, the NPRM notes that it is not fair to place all the blame for pilot fatigue directly on the carriers.

It states, "Pilots who pick up extra hours,moonlight, report to work when sick, commute irresponsibly, or simply choose not to take advantage of the required rest periods are as culpable as carriers who push the envelop by scheduling right up to the maximum duty limits, assigning flightcrew members who have reached their flight time limits additional flight duties under part 91, and exceeding the maximum flight and duty limits by claiming reasonably foreseeable circumstances are beyond their control."

And finally, along with recommended improvements in carrier-specific fatigue risk management systems, the proposal points out that "fatigue training" is not currently required under any regulatory regime and that sleep experts note that many people regularly underestimate their level of fatigue, "often to dangerous levels."

With that in mind, the agency proposes to require fatigue training for each person involved with scheduling aircraft and crews, all crewmembers and management personnel. The FAA is proposing to require five hours of initial training for all newly-hired,covered employees prior to starting work in that capacity and 2 hours of annual, recurrent training. This training would be approved through the agency’s operations specifications process.

The training curriculum would address general fatigue and fatigue countermeasures along with the following subject areas such as regulatory requirements for rest, the basics of fatigue, causes of fatigue, effect of fatigue on performance, as well as the "influence of lifestyle, including nutrition, exercise, and family life on performance. The program would also address the effects of commuting and operating through multiple time zones.

The Federal Register reports the 60-day public comment period closes Monday,November 15, 2010. However, other sources, including the FAA's Web site, indicate the comment period closes on November 13th, which is a Saturday.

FMI: www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection  www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/