Pilot fatigue in India, a wake-up call for airlines

Source– The post is based on the article “Pilot fatigue in India, a wake-up call for airlines” published in “The Hindu” on 21st August 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Disaster management

Relevance: Issues related to aircraft accidents

News– In the past weeks, there have been reports of some Indian pilots who passed away due to cardiac arrest. One of them was a pilot of Indian origin flying for an airline in West Asia.

What are issues related to pilots in India?

Airlines and the aviation regulatory body in India does not comprehend the significance of fatigue and inadequate sleep.

India has some of the most inadequate regulations concerning Flight and Duty Time Limitations and rest intervals.

Proficiency evaluations are manipulated and training often reduced to a mere formality.

Airlines around the globe impose a minimum cumulative cockpit experience requirement for both pilots. Indian airlines do not fulfil these criteria.

Flying crew in India get one day off in a week and just their annual leave. ‘Safe airlines’ worldwide provide at least two days off every week and proper rest periods between flights for the body clock to unwind.

The fatal accident at Mangaluru and Kozhikode (August 2020) had identified another important factor. The pilots were taking medications. Self-medication becomes a norm. Without many being aware of side-effects, these can induce other conditions.

What are the contributing factors behind the aircraft accidents?

Crew duty time cannot be standardized for all situations. Human fatigue varies throughout the day, with the circadian low affecting the period from midnight to sunrise.  The number of landings during a pilot’s duty duration contributes to fatigue.

Over 60 years ago, a scientific study demonstrated that stress levels during landing approaches can elevate heart rates to over 240 beats per minute.

This triggers the adrenal glands and leads to significant sugar depletion in the body. This  has identified this as a contributing factor towards accidents.

Accidents have been linked to sleep deprivation and momentary micro-sleep episodes lasting between five to 15 seconds during the approach and landing phases.