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Pilot Scheduling

The FAA and the airlines lead the transportation industry in addressing fatigue.

Federal regulations establish the maximum number of hours for which pilots may be scheduled to fly over specified blocks of time (for example, no more than 1,000 hours per year or 100 hours per month). In addition, there are required pre-flight rest periods for given periods of scheduled flight time. A pilot scheduled for a flight of eight hours or less must be able to "look back" at the conclusion of the flight and find nine consecutive hours of rest during the preceding 24 hours; a pilot scheduled for eight to nine hours of flight must have 10 consecutive hours of rest in the preceding 24; and a pilot scheduled for more than nine hours of flight must have 11 consecutive hours of rest. This approach implicitly limits the number of hours pilots fly to manageable and safe levels, while providing airlines with the flexibility they need to operate.

The airlines are working with the FAA to prepare guidelines concerning fatigue countermeasures based on research done by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration�s (NASA) Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Program. NASA's research has found that strategic controlled napping greatly decreases fatigue.

 




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