Pilot Fatigue: Not A Good Bed-Time Story

Two commercial pilots allegedly fell asleep on a March 2004 flight between Baltimore and Denver, with one pilot waking up to "frantic" calls from air traffic controllers warning them they were approaching the airport at twice the speed allowed.

The event, which was discussed during a Congressional hearing on October 31, was reported by the captain on the flight on NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, which allows crew members to anonymously document incidents, according to the Associated Press.

"I woke up, why I don't know, and heard frantic calls from ATC ... I answered ATC and abided by all instructions to get down. Woke FO (first officer) up," according to the ASRS  transcript of the incident.

He spiraled the jet down to a lower altitude as ordered, then landed "with no further incidents."

"Last 45 mins of flt (flight) I fell asleep and so did the FO (first officer)," according to the narrative in the NASA report.

The PIC noted they were approaching a point where they were to begin their descent into Denver International Airport about 60 miles southeast of the airport at 35,000 feet, much higher than typical, and at Mach .82, or 608 mph, instead of a required slower speed.

Details of the red eye flight -- including the airline, flight number, or number of passengers aboard -- are not included in the reporting system. It did note the type of airplane, an Airbus A319, which is flown by Frontier Airlines and United Airlines out of DEN.

United officials indicated that they had no "red eye" flights between the two cites at that time. A spokesman from Frontier Airlines, Joe Hodas reported that the airline had a "red eye" flight on the schedule at the time but could not find a report of the incident.

The pilot had been switched to three nights in a row of flying the overnight, eight-hour round trip.

Hodas said the airline has received similar reports in the past and have addressed them, noting that pilot fatigue is a bigger issue in the industry than the public realizes.

"We take safety very seriously and watch crew fatigue very closely," he said.

The company has a number of programs in place to prevent crew fatigue, including no-fault fatigue reporting in which a pilot who feels fatigued and is scheduled to fly can call and be relieved from flying.

FMI: http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/