Senate bill would mandate more research for pilot fatigue

[western2]

Senate bill for pilot fatigue research| Pilotbug

Included in the Senate’s FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act is a provision which will address long sought after issues on pilot flight time, duty and rest. It mandates that within 3 months of the enactment of the bill into law, the FAA, in conjunction with the Academy of Sciences, will conduct a study of pilot fatigue.

The study will include research on:

(1) research on fatigue, sleep, and circadian rhythms;
(2) sleep and rest requirements recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board; and
(3) international standards.

Within 18 months of the study, the Academy of Sciences will present the findings, along with recommendations for the FAA to implement in future rule-making in regards to flight time and rest requirements.

Also within this portion of the bill is a similar proposal to address flight attendant rest and fatigue to be conducted by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute.

The push toward more defined rest rules was initiated by the crash in February of Continental Connection Flight 3407, which took 50 lives, including one on the ground. It has been speculated that fatigue may have been a contributing factor in the crash, as investigators tried to reconstruct the flight crew’s sleep and rest in the 24 hours prior to the flight.