Effects of Fatigue on Pilots in Aviation - Essay Example

How fatigue affects pilots in aviation Insert Name Course, Class, Semester Institution Instructor Date Introduction Fatigue also known as torpor, tiredness, drowsiness or apathy is a feeling of exhaustion remarkably different from weakness and has a gradual onset. Fatigue, unlike bodily weaknesses, can affect both the physical and mental capabilities of an individual. Physical fatigue by an individual entails the impairment of a muscle to maintain its maximum performance, and physical exercise only intensifies the situation. On the other hand, mental fatigue is the reduction in cognitive performance emanating from the long and elaborate periods of cognitive activity. From a medicinal perspective, fatigue has no direct or symptom. This implies that, fatigue has an array of causes and hence fatigue is a subjective feeling reported by a patient. This is because; unlike some objective diseases that manifests in patients and can be detected by third parties, fatigue is only felt by the patient alone (Stephens 2004). Piloting at times call for long working hours, or prolonged working periods without adequate sleep, and in other instances, the working periods do not synchronize with the body’s biological rhythms. Pilot fatigue is an exceptionally crucial factor affecting airline safety, efficiency, personal health and productivity. Fatigue is among the leading factors causing a decrease in physical performance and has been the direct cause to many atrocities in the transportation industry. It is necessary to delineate the physiological symptoms allied to fatigue. This is because; once the signs are outstanding it is easy to rebut accident arising from fatigue. It is evident that there is no specified or universally agreed terminology as what constitutes exhaustion. According to some, fatigue is a misrepresentation of different sensory nerves while others emphasize that fatigue is as a result of sleep deprivation or expended effort. Ultimately, it is necessary to understand how fatigue manifests itself in humans more so pilots. The intention of this discussion is to explain what fatigue is, its impact to the aviation industry and what can be done to mitigate the impact of fatigue. It is eminent that pilots traverse long distances during their cause of duty. This implies that the pilots may be exhausted or deprived of enough sleep. This in itself constitutes fatigue. The combination of both work related features and travel related factors put the airline at the risks emanating from fatigue. The bottom line is that, fatigue reduces efficiency, performance and accuracy in the aviation industry. It is apparent that fatigue thrives in the aviation industry. According to various reports, 3.8 percent of the aviation incidents in 2006 were directly allied to fatigue. Indirectly, fatigue comprises of 426 incidents in the same year, and this is approximately 22.3 percent (United States, 2008). The weighty problem prevalent with the statistics relating to the fatigue incidents is that there is no properly defined cause or assessment of what comprises fatigue. Fatigue is hence a difficult aspect to investigate and hence the fatigue related incidents are just but an estimate of the actual figure. For instance, the fatigue reports by pilots such as reduced alertness or reduced concentration are difficult to quantify as they solely do not arise from sleep deprivation. It is inherent that the cause of fatigue remains vague but while assessing the accident or incident, the cause of fatigue should also be a subject of concern. For instance, the work schedules and programs indicate the level of workload that would prompt cardiac disturbances emanating from jet lags or night flights. The calculation of the work schedule can be used to indicate the cumulative duty hours. Causes of fatigue in the aviation industry The causes of fatigue in the aviation industry are related to quality of sleep, sleep loss and any disruption in the cardiac rhythms. According to pilots, night flights and jet lag are among the key factors generating fatigue. An example entails a flight from New York to Paris to and fro. This flight will involve 48 hours of travel with a extraordinarily short layover of less than 22 hours. This will amount to poor quantity and quality of sleep and long periods of wakefulness. This in itself will amount to fatigue during the return flight and at the same time reducing the performance as well as accuracy of the pilot. In the aviation industry, the quantity of sleep and the quality of sleep are both prominent in negating fatigue. If there are disruptions during sleep, they compromise the quality of sleep and even if one sleeps for a long duration they still feel deprived of sleep. Disruptions during sleep arise from two causes; either body disorders or environmental causes. The environmental causes revolve around noise, temperature or even lighting. On the other hand, sleep disorders include; restlessness, sleep apnoea, leg syndrome among other disorders that may deprive an individual of their sleep. The problem with sleep related disorder is that one cannot feel that they are awake, but the consequences are prevalent and manifest during the waking hours. Another cause of fatigue is alcohol consumption. Many individuals around the world consume alcohol to act as a sleep aid or to help them relax. This is ironic because; alcohol has a negative effect on the quality of sleep as it leads to fragmentation of sleep as well as loss of (REM) rapid eye movement sleep. Even after many hour of sleep, these fragmentations and disturbances during sleep heighten the level of fatigue. In addition to lack of enough sleep, alcohol consumption worsens the situation leading to alertness impairment and reduced performance. Additionally, multi leg flights and the early wake up hours or flights contribute a superb deal to the prevailing incidents and accidents allied to fatigue. According to many pilots, the early wake up hours and late sleeping hours contribute a terrific deal of fatigue. The time constraints and high number of legs per day as well as extensive working hours increase fatigue directly related to operations. There are also disruptions to the normal cardiac rhythms which eventually amount to fatigue. A cardiac rhythm is a combination of physiological processes in one’s body lasting 24 hours. The psychological processes include; sleep, digestion, body temperatures, which are also linked to the light and dark cycles of the earth. This implies that traversing the universe from north to south or east or west hemispheres tremendously cause havoc on the cardiac rhythms of an individual. This instability in cardiac rhythms combined with sleeping problems causes’ fatigue (Surani, & Subramanian, 2011). Manifestation of fatigue Fatigue can manifest itself in two forms in a person’s body; either physical manifestation of mental manifestation. The physical manifestation of fatigue will include; a general feeling of tiredness where the pilot feels exhausted. Fatigue will also manifest itself through a reduced level of vigilance and accuracy. With fatigue comes an irresistible desire to sleep. It is apparent that fatigue and sleep have a direct relation and hence once fatigue sets in, the affected pilot will have an irresistible desire to sleep. Also, fatigue results to inadvertent napping or even nodding off. In addition, fatigue results to lethargy as well as a unusually slow reaction time. On the other hand, the mental manifestations will include; reduced concentration where the pilot cannot concentrate for a long period. Fatigue also results to difficulties in remembering or memorizing pieces of information. The mental manifestation at times includes; periods of inattention as well as a slow understanding rate. In addition, fatigue results to unhealthy moods among the effected persons as well as a tendency to forget information. In other instances, fatigue incapacitates the decision making antics of the pilot which are detrimental considering the sensitivity of the profession. Many pilots assert that sleep deprivation is the cause of fatigue which eventuates to reduced performance, inattention, inaccuracy and at times incidents or accidents. However, the other crew members assert that the mental manifestations are prevalent among pilots and hence there is slow reaction time to small mistakes (Maddox, 2001). Fatigue and interpersonal skills Fatigue causes reduced level of accuracy and performance. When any incident arises, the reaction time from a fatigued pilot is not instantaneous. It is also apparent that, fatigue affects non technical skills which include situation awareness and interpersonal conflicts. More often than not, fatigued pilots will perform poorly when interpersonal conflicts are in play. This will imply that the fatigued pilots will not listen to ideas, opinions or even will fail to admit mistakes prolonging conflict resolution. On the other hand, the loss of situational awareness relates to reduced monitoring, cross checking as well as lack of vigilance. The pilot may have a difficult time when answering video calls, adhering to restrictions, and at times leads to inaccurate switch settings (Pook, 2007). Fatigue management strategies It eminent that fatigue revolves around inadequate sleep. It is inherent that good sleeping strategies will aid in reducing the levels of fatigue considerably. This will involve creating a standard sleeping routine schedule for the pilots to ensure they follow routine to negate the sleeping disorders. The pilots need appropriate advice to ensure that they quit consuming alcohol mostly when on duty. This will mitigate additional fatigue that would substantially alleviate the fatigue menace prevalent in the aviation industry. In addition, there is a new regulation in place that will enforce the number of hours each pilot works between work shifts. This regulation by the US department of transportation will ensure that pilots rest before re-entering the cockpit. The regulation stipulation asserts that a pilot should rest for a minimum of 10 hour before resuming duties in the cockpit (United States, 2009). Conclusion It is evident that fatigue affects the level of performance of an individual. This is because; fatigue reduces the level of a body’s activity both mentally and physically. Fatigue in the aviation industry emanates from an array of reason but sleep and prolonged working hours are the predominant reasons. The US department of transportation has enacted regulations seeking to restore sanity in the profession. References Stephens, R. I. (2004). Case studies for fatigue education. Philadelphia, Pa. Maddox, S. J. (2001). Fatigue strength of welded structures. Cambridge, England: Abington Pub. Pook, L. P. (2007). Metal fatigue: What it is, why it matters. Dordrecht: Springer. Surani, S., & Subramanian, S. (2011). Sleep & safety. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates: Bentham Books. United States. (2008). Aviation instructor's handbook 2008. Oklahoma City, Okla.: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration. United States., & United States. (2009). Aviation instructor's handbook. New York, NY: Skyhorse Pub. Read More