FLC OF AN ACR MDT WERE OFF COURSE AND COMPLAINED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE DUTY SCHEDULE FATIGUE.
Synopsis
FLC OF AN ACR MDT WERE OFF COURSE AND COMPLAINED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE DUTY SCHEDULE FATIGUE.
Narrative
WE WERE FLYING THE EARLY MORNING FLT FROM TUL-DFW ON OUR FOURTH ALL NIGHTER (CONTINUOUS DUTY) IN A ROW. I AM A NEW CAPT IN THIS TYPE ACFT WITH JUST OVER 100 HRS IN TYPE; BUT DUE TO OUR CONSTANT SHORTAGE OF PLTS (INADEQUATE STAFFING) I WAS FLYING AS FO. FLYING THE TULSA TRANSITION ON THE BOIDS FOUR ARR; THE CAPT CROSSED THE ADM VOR THEN PROCEEDED TOWARDS BPR; 66 MI AWAY. AT ABOUT 10 MI SW OF ADM; THE CTLR ASKED IF WE WERE ON THE ADM 201 DEG RADIAL. THE CAPT AND I BOTH HAD OUR RADIOS TUNED INBOUND TO BPR AND WE WERE ON COURSE ON THE BPR 018 DEG RADIAL. WHEN I TUNED IN THE ADM VOR. IT SHOWED WE WERE LEFT OF COURSE AND I RESPONDED. I DID NOT BELIEVE THERE WAS A PROB; BUT THE CTLR CONTINUED; WANTING TO PROVE WHY WE WERE LEFT OF COURSE. I RESPONDED WE WERE JUST L OF COURSE. NOTHING FURTHER WAS SAID; AND I DO BELIEVE WE WERE WITHIN THE AIRWAY. WHILE NO RULES WERE BROKEN; WE WERE NOT THE MOST ACCURATE OR EFFICIENT CREW. I BELIEVE THE REASONS CAN SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. CONTINUOUS DUTY OVERNIGHTS WITH 14 HR DUTY PERIODS ARE HARD ENOUGH. DOING 4 IN A ROW IS BRUTAL (AND SHOULD NOT BE LEGAL). I AVERAGED 3 HRS SLEEP AT NIGHT; AND AT BEST A 1-2 HR NAP AT HOME IN THE DAYTIME. I WAS EXHAUSTED; AND I BELIEVE THE CAPT WAS TOO. SECONDLY; OUR COMPANY IS CONTINUALLY UNDERSTAFFED; FORCING ME TO FLY R SEAT WHILE I AM JUST STARTING TO GET COMFORTABLE IN THE L SEAT. THIS CERTAINLY MADE IT HARDER TO KEEP UP WITH THE ACFT; AND SINCE THE CAPT WAS FLYING; I WASN'T MONITORING THE NAV AS CLOSELY AS I WOULD HAVE IF I WERE FLYING L SEAT AS CAPT. I KNOW AS AIRLINE PLTS WE SOMETIMES HAVE TO FLY UNDER ADVERSE CONDITIONS; BUT IN THIS CASE; FAA REGULATIONS AND COMPANY POLICY ARE COMBINING TO CREATE A POSSIBLY DANGEROUS SIT. WE NEED CHANGE IN DUTY TIME LIMITATIONS AND FAA MONITORING OF STAFFING LEVELS. PLTS IN OUR COMPANY ARE FLYING TIRED. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT HIS COMPLAINT WITH THE PRESENT DUTY TIME PERMITS LEGAL ON DUTY TIME WITH SHORT REST PERIODS CAUSING FATIGUE DURING FLTS. THIS HAPPENS ON COMPANY OPERATED SCHEDULES; REFERRED TO AS 'STAND-UP' DUTY WHEREIN; ONE AND A HALF ROUND TRIPS ARE CONDUCTED STARTING ON DUTY AT EARLY EVENING AND ENDING AT EARLY MORNING. THE FLT TIME IS USUALLY APPROX 5-6 HRS AND A REST PERIOD OF 5-6 HRS. RPTR CLAIMS THAT THIS TYPE OF SCHEDULE MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO GET MORE THAN 4 HRS SLEEP AT THE MOST PRIOR TO THE RETURN FLT IN THE MORNING. THEN VERY DIFFICULT TO SLEEP AT HOUSE DURING THE DAY; WITH THE MANY NORMAL INTERRUPTIONS OF FAMILY LIFE; AND THEN GO BACK ON DUTY AT EARLY EVENING. THEREFORE; RPTR BELIEVES THAT IF THE DUTY TOTAL TIME FOR THESE TYPES OF NIGHT SHORT SCHEDULED FLTS WERE REDUCED TO 12 HRS WOULD HELP RESOLVE THIS SIT. THE FLC WOULD THEN GO ON DUTY LATER IN THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT AND COME BACK THE NEXT MORNING WHICH WOULD PROVIDE A GREATER AMOUNT OF REST AT HOME.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.