A Friend Stopped By | 10/27/2009 2:35 pm

'Pilots Have Been Sleeping in Airplanes Since There Were Airplanes'

By Bob Perkins

Editor’s Note: Bob Perkins spent four years in the U.S. Air Force as an instructor pilot where he became a captain. He now is the president of Consensus Research Company based in New York City.

Who’s awake anyway?

The recent incident of a Northwest Airlines flight staying on autopilot for an extra 20 minutes has raised the issue of pilots "napping" on the job. Let’s be honest: Pilots have been sleeping in airplanes since there were airplanes … the goal is always to have at least one pilot awake.

Why is this? First, flying has gotten to be very boring. If you don’t believe me, sit in a chair, look out the window and sit there for three hours. Once every 30 minutes, pick up your cell phone, call a number for 30 seconds and hang up. That is what the NWA flight was like, except it was dark outside for most of the trip.

Decades ago, I was an instructor pilot in the U.S. Air Force in a high-performance airplane. It was supersonic, could roll at 720 degrees a second and held the time-to-climb record. Mostly, I taught second lieutenants how to stay alive until they could get into an airplane more suited to their talents. But when we flew a cross-country mission that required an hour of cruising six miles above the ground, I "napped" all the time. It was boring.

Second, pilots really have two tasks. One is to make sure the autopilot, the auto gear lifter and the auto flap lower and the automatic coffeemaker work. Not very tough. The second is to show incredible judgment, finesse and cool in panicky situations (let’s call it the "judgment" task). We had a Miracle on the Hudson because you had a fabulous set of pilots doing a miraculous job and being very lucky.

In my old Pilot Instructor job, we didn’t have any "auto" anything on the T-38. It took most of your attention to keep the airplane going and the student pilot from killing you.

But, in a commercial airliner, the ratio of "auto tasks" to "judgment" tasks is about 1,000 to one. That is, you spend 25 weeks (at 40 hours a week) and do one hour of "judgment."

Given that ratio, airline passengers don’t want to pay big bucks for judgment. What are the odds that you’ll be in that one tenth of one percent when judgment is essential? Low.

So pilots get paid less, work more and have fewer hours between flights. And we shouldn’t be surprised when a few of them nod off in the auto task mode.

The bible of all real pilots is Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff. It captured the ethic of pilots, particularly fighter pilots, perfectly. It isn’t an accident that the best pilot ever, Chuck Yeager, never wanted to be an astronaut. Why would you give up flying a real airplane to become a "monkey in a can"? Astronauts didn’t fly their capsules, they rode. General Yeager never wanted to be a passenger.

Yet, the truth is for most flights, most of the time, modern airline pilots are almost passengers. And until we are willing to pay them more, let them sleep more and treat them as people, not machines, we shouldn’t be surprised if one or two nap away.

41 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Needless to say this was disturbing and nodding off has nothing to do with less pay or even being tired. I can nod off when I’m bored easily and not necessairly be tired. Just like an office when they are on auto pilot they need to do something so being on a lap top or talking isn’t so bad, what we need is for the co-pilot & the pilot take turns and check each other out during long flights. Maybe this means that they get up walk around and talk to the passengers like in the old days and go back and switch so they get their body moving. Also having mandatory cock pit checks by the head stewardess. They are human and it can happen and lets face it did happen.

By Barbara B on 10/27/2009 4:26 pm

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Barbara, the entire crew of that airplane is at fault! And, NW knows danged well those pilots were marginal, at best, and the flight attendants do, as well. I remember laying over (in my pvt. airplane) in a city and hearing the one flight attendant call in to her airline to report that the captain of her flight departing in 90 min had been at her door drunk at 2 AM (this was about 7 AM), and she was not going to fly! She argued with them, in fact.

Later, I saw her in the lobby of the hotel, and asked "how’d you do" and she said, "I’m too sick to fly - " Good for her. But, frankly the airline (a little guy of a BIG GIANT company) was not going to let her get away with protesting for safety reasons.

I saw that young woman in the concourse in Houston 2 years later! She had changed airlines, and was headed with the new one out to open the Oahu base for them! In fact, she told me that her "training" with the one she switched to was "far superior to" the former out of DFW.

The entire crew has to speak OUT and act when there is any question whatsoever of safety. Flight attendants are not stupid, and they know the routes; there is no way they weren’t aware of what was "going on" in that cockpit.

By Signing On on 10/27/2009 6:21 pm

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I saw a documentary about this a couple of years back. (Then again, maybe it was 20/20 or Nightline or a similar program. ) The pilots who were interviewed were in black light and voices were disguised. But each said they simply did not have enough down time between flights. Six hours might seem like a lot, but that pilot has to "clear/secure" the plane, get to his hotel or resting place, and then arrive early for his/her next flight. That left around 3-4 hours for rest.

I recently flew from Texas to Florida to the Bahamas. That last flight gave me pause. The pilots looked exhausted. While in the air, I asked the stewardess if we were safe. She assured me that the plane was very safe. I told her I was not concerned about the aircraft but about the weary looking pilots. She turned beet red and did not answer.

They know and most of us who fly on a regular basis also know. The pilots know , too. They need far more time between long flights for R & R. That means taking another look at rotation or hiring more pilots. It’s doubtful any will occur.

Many of us are professional persons who know how to do our jobs well. But how well would we do those jobs if we were getting only a few hours rest?

A last thought. I don’t see how we can compare a pilot to a restaurant server. If I don’t likee my server, I can ask for another or get up and leave. No can do in a plane.

By Maggie W on 10/27/2009 4:56 pm

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Maggie, depending on the seniority of pilots, many of them are only working 12 hours/month! If an airline is recycling pilots, against FAA regulations they need to be suspended from operating until they’re in compliance again. All this began when the ATCs were screwed up by our infamous Administration a long time ago. Nothing has happened to recover the airline industry except for the professionalism of pilots.

Any time a pilot or crew member for that matter appears fatigued, or unfit to carry out an intense job (if necessary) stop the show and raise HELL to the airline immediately! It is no different from a hospital situation in which patients must YELL, get off the operating room table, or call an attorney from a bedside phone (all calls are recorded!) to get help! Never board any transport with a question or concern!

By Signing On on 10/27/2009 6:26 pm

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I agree some pilots may need more sleep between shifts…But like Belinda said this was a profession they chose. Just like being a Dr - you go thru your internship where you may not sleep but 10 mins within 48 hours YET we still hold them up to a standard like no other.

Thankfully these pilots falling asleep did not cause them to crash into another plane or a building…

I recently stayed at a hotel and the curtains were drawn and during the day there was no sunlight coming in. If your tired enough - which it seemed these pilots were so tired they were able to sleep ever after being called by air traffic control for hours and the beeps and sounds in the cockpit - they could have slept during their downtime.

As most of you know my husband profession doesnt allow them much sleep from shift to shift YET again we hold them in a higher standard as they get to carry guns.

By C Hardy on 10/27/2009 6:00 pm

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Bob, not once did you mention this concept: PILOT IN COMMAND (PIC). Like some of the other posters here, I got my license in 1980 and my instructors hammered into me: THE PIC IS RESPONSIBLE for his decisions and actions.

The FAA has pulled those pilots’ licenses. ‘Nuf said.

By Lila Kuh on 10/27/2009 6:59 pm

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Well I’ll be damn… then they should pay them more let them sleep more and quit treating them like machines! I’ll sign the petition! cuz i don’t want MY pilot sleeping or over tired from not enough sleep. AND I want the pilot with great judgement. sign me up for the movement..

By Chrome Toe on 10/27/2009 7:43 pm

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Whatever it was that caused the two pilots to overfly their destination, I don’t believe we have heard the real reason yet, and I wonder if we ever will. This is terribly serious and so far the ridiculous excuses being offered by the pilots are so brittle and childish that one has to wonder about their maturity and educational level.

My concern at the moment is with this article by Mr. Perkins. His attitude is so incredibly juvenile and his explanations are so ridiculously abstract that anyone who understands the high degree of responsibility and importance involved in being an airline pilot can’t help but question his evaluation of the unflinching character, devotion and stringent commitment required to effect the job successfully. Obviously there are problems with the working conditions of many of these flyers, but in time, the problems will be worked out. Mr. Perkins’ descriptions are a better fit for what we expect from our hot fighter pilots, and apparently he has trained quite a few of them, but, I don’t think he portrays the true image of an airline pilot like Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberg for instance.

By Lauriate Roly on 10/27/2009 7:43 pm

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I heard on the radio, they were on their laptops. How about a side bet here. Was it Facebook, Twitter or porn ?

By V B on 10/27/2009 8:49 pm

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My bet is on computer games. Or YouTube?

By Zera Lee on 10/28/2009 3:53 pm

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My bet, if laptops were involved, mmog.

By S A on 10/28/2009 6:24 pm

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Grand Theft Aero! ;-)

By Zera Lee on 10/28/2009 7:17 pm

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This story just doesn’t make sense to me. Either the entire crew is totally irresponsible or they were being held hostage. I fly quite often and always know approximately when we should start our initial descent. Certainly the flight attendants know exactly when that should happen. Were they sleeping too?

How scary for the air traffic controllers. In this environment they could have easily assumed the plane had been hijacked. I wonder why they didn’t call in the military?

By Lee Harrison on 10/27/2009 9:16 pm

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Fighters were seconds from take-off when contact resumed. The pilots had to make specific maneuvers to prove that they were in control of the plane before they were allowed to return to MSP. Police entered the plane before anyoue was allowed to leave.

Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which scrambled fighter jets for the wayward plane but did not launch them, said it was reviewing procedures for launching the fighters to track potentially hijacked or suspicious aircraft.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/26/airliner.flyby/index.html

By Steve R on 10/28/2009 5:01 pm

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Thanks Steve,

You obviously are more up to date on this than I. I heard tonight that the plane did not have WiFi, so the pilots could not have been on their laptops…unless they were playing solitaire! I’m glad to know the military was on top of this.

By Lee Harrison on 10/28/2009 9:39 pm