Over the past fifteen years that I have been writing articles on Aviation Law, several have had as their main concern pilot fatigue. Unfortunately, the fatigue factor has once again raised serious concerns over pilot performance following the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 at Little Rock's Adams Field. As with most tragic airline crashes, several ingredients made up the recipe for disaster. With reports that the cockpit crew having been on duty for about 13.5 hours, and lengthy delays necessitated by weather, investigators most certainly will focus in on fatigue as a probable cause.
   The crash of AA Flight 1420 once again reminds me of a pilot I once represented. He was the number three pilot hired by a growing freight company. At the time of his first employment, the burgeoning freight hauler had one Gulfstream I turboprop aircraft. Seven years later, he was high on the seniority list as a 747 Captain, with several thousand pilots behind him. As part of his normal route structure, he would fly several flights per week between Ontario, California and the East Coast during daylight hours. However, there was one flight a week that departed Ontario, California at approximately 4:00 p.m. (when on time), flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, and then returned to Ontario during the early morning hours. Of note, and perhaps unheard of today, was the fact that the entire round trip flight was conducted with the same three flight crew members, and no one to act as a relief pilot. My client reported that all three would fall asleep at the same time on the return flight over the dark Pacific. This was confirmed by the other crew members. One can only wonder what would happen if this fatigued crew ran into problems as it approached the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, and how the fatigued crew would have reacted to an emergency.
   Although numerous complaints were lodged with his employer concerning the potential safety hazards associated with this flight, nothing was done to remedy the situation. One day, while the flight was delayed for mechanical reasons, my client determined it would be unsafe for him to fly this trip. He was within his rights to do so, since to fly with a known medical deficiency would be a violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR 61.53). He was fired, and a lawsuit ensued.
   At trial I called a sleep deprivation expert from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California. He testified about the increased occurrence of "dawn syndrome" accidents involving pilots, truck drivers, and others in the transportation industry. We all have are own biological clocks, he testified, and tampering with them, or attempting to change the settings could have disastrous consequences. When the pilots attempted to change their schedules from day to night, and then complicate that with arduous hours of work, the road to fatigue was paved.
   Pilot fatigue is increasingly being scrutinized by human factor experts. It has been cited as causing or contributing to numerous transportation accidents. The Today show once did a piece on the importance of sleep, and attributed 200,000 auto accidents a year to fatigue. Studies conducted in New York, Texas, and Israel in l985 and l986 involving 6,052 single vehicle traffic accidents attributed to "falling asleep at the wheel", established the major peak in fatigue occurred between midnight and 7 a.m., with special pronouncement between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. (See, Mitler, "BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGNING SHIFT SCHEDULES", Presented at the Meetings of the Human Factors Society in Anaheim, CA on 10-27-88).
   The Aeronautical Human Factors Research Office of the NASA Ames Research Center has placed much emphasis on sleep and fatigue factors in long-haul flight operations. As stated in one lecture by NASA research personnel:

"The increased range of the next generation of long-haul aircraft coupled with reduced crew sizes and highly automated cockpits can be expected to heighten operational concerns about crew fatigue and the need to plan for sleepiness on the flight deck. Economic pressures and the increasing demand for more frequent flights will only serve to exacerbate the potential of this human factor for producing operational inefficiency and decreased flight safety. In anticipation of these trends NASA has organized a major research program to collect objective data on the problem of flight crew sleep and fatigue in long-haul carrier operations."

"While sleepiness has a strong, predictable rhythmic component, pilots are often unable to assess their own sleepiness accurately and may underestimate their sleepiness while on duty. Cockpit napping occurs, but is usually unplanned and sporadic. The traditional emphasis on limiting duty or flight time and setting rest minimums may now be tailored to circadian time with emphasis on the timing of duty or rest rather than duration. Pilots also need guidance on how to plan their daily activities before and during trips to optimize physiological adjustment and obtain the best rest with the least amount of circadian disruption. Most long haul flights will soon be operated by two-person crews in highly automated cockpits flying non-stop for up to 16 hours. The potential for boredom and complacency will increase, and crew augmentation and the scheduling of in-flight rest will be critical. Attempts to improve performance and safety will have to address these developments as well as physiological considerations."