Tuesday 6 November 2007

Are more pilots falling asleep during flights?

With the cockpit today being entirely automated it's a wonder pilots are needed at all. However it's something else when the pilots are getting so bored that they're fallnig asleep.

Onboard a flight from Baltimore to Denver in 2004 this is what happened! The pilot and co-pilot had drifted off and only woke up when air traffic control were practically shouting at them as the plane was cruising at twice the required speed on approach. They did however manage to land the plane without mishap. Nobody onboard the flight was none the wiser and the only reason this matter has come to light is because the pilot submitted an anoymous report.

This isn't the first time this has happened as discovered from a Dallas news station, another pilot fell asleep during take off.

"When air traffic control said something on the radio we both woke up," recalled the pilot, "and I was like, oh my gosh, we're already up here."

Does something need to be done to keep all cockpit crew awake?

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