Two-thirds of Indian pilots admit to nodding asleep in the cabin.
In India, multiple pilots admit to nodding off in the cockpit. According to a Safety Matters Foundation survey of 542 regional, local, and global pilots, 66% acknowledged falling asleep at the control of the plane without rousing up another crew member.
In India, wherein airlines need approximately 1,500 new pilots each year, there is a chronic shortage of qualified pilots. Nevertheless, just 200 to 300 of such new workers have received the necessary training.
Work overload and having to take rear morning flights, which necessitated waking up as early as 2 a.m., were the most prevalent causes of having a nap in the cockpit.
Fatigue is one of the leading causes of aviation crashes. There are dozens of flights every week between India and the United Kingdom, wherein 1.5 million British Indians live.
According to their replies, around 54% of airmen reported severe excessive daily drowsiness, whereas 41% reported mild excessive daytime sleepiness.
At least a third of those asked acknowledged experiencing a near-accident during flying, which they blamed on being overtired.
Pilot fatigue causes 15-20% of all human errors in fatal accidents. Incidents do not occur on a daily basis. However, data show that human mistake is to blame 80% of the time. Fatigue causes slower reaction times, less focus, and poor decision-making.
According to a data analysis of commercial plane accidents globally between 1959 and 2016, 48% of fatal crashes and aboard fatalities happened during the last approach and landing.
According to statistics from 2011 to 2015, the landing and takeoff stages of a flight accounted for more than 65% of all recorded accidents, with unstabilized approaches accounting for 14% of these mishaps. Furthermore, unstabilized approaches were responsible for 31% of airfield excursions.
Author: Astha Singh
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