A commuter air carrier flight crew addressed fatigue issues related to Continuous Duty Overnight scheduled assigned to reserves by releasing them to 'rest' early in the morning so as to make them legal to fly the sequence.
Synopsis
A commuter air carrier flight crew addressed fatigue issues related to Continuous Duty Overnight scheduled assigned to reserves by releasing them to 'rest' early in the morning so as to make them legal to fly the sequence.
Narrative
Crew Scheduling called and released me to rest at 0600 so that I was legal for a CDO (Continuous Duty Overnight) flight with a report of 2110 local. Felt fine going into the duty period. Got to the hotel and got about 4.5 hours of sleep. [I] reported for the flight at 0515 for a 0600 departure. I again felt fine at time of report. While enroute [I] started to feel more tired as the flight progressed. The actual event was that we were cleared to 8;000 FT and 7;000 FT was set in the alerter. Did not notice mistake until ATC advised us of altitude deviation. Immediately corrected and returned to assigned altitude.Switching reserves from 'normal' duty periods to CDO duty periods within a calendar day is dangerous. Reserves should be given at least 24 hours notice to try and correct for circadian rhythm irregularities. Long flights on CDOs contribute to fatigue because you might feel fine at departure; but halfway through a two-plus hour flight begin to feel fatigued. Total block should not exceed the sleep in a hotel.
Second reporter narrative
We were assigned 8;000. I read back 8;000 but 7;000 went in the altitude selector. Looking at the altitude selector I said 8;000 and it did not register that the wrong altitude was selected.I felt safe this morning after getting up and drinking energy drinks.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.