Fatigued is when...

flyingmaniac

flyingmaniac

Well-Known Member
You land in Atlanta, pull up to the gate and turn off the engines and forget to turn the APU on. The airplane goes black and you look at the captain and the captain looks at you and you both smack your heads and then you turn the APU on.

I would like to make this thread into a "Factors of Fatigue", which explains the mistakes that a pilot might or might not make due to the flacid regulations that the airlines or operators abide by.

Please give your lessons learned from being fatigued.

Thank You,
 
I would say you don't forget to turn the APU on. You forgot to run the appripriate checklist. Even more dangerous, if anything.
 
skydog2 said:
I would say you don't forget to turn the APU on. You forgot to run the appripriate checklist. Even more dangerous, if anything.
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For fuel saving measures, we don't turn the APU on until just before pulling up to the gate. Beforehand all eyes are outside the cockpit for avoidance.

And turning on the APU is not required if the electrical is hooked up first, nor is it on the checklist to turn on after landing-in the CRJ 700 at my airline.
 
jhugz said:
Or more likely skipped items in a checklist. Regardless I agree even more dangerous.
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This is not the thread to discuss who is wrong or right or what you did was wrong. It is a base for people to learn from the mistakes of others being fatigued (a little or a lot).

Once again, I am looking at the checklist right now, and turning on the APU is not required nor on the checklist.
 
flyingmaniac said:
This is not the thread to discuss who is wrong or right or what you did was wrong. It is a base for people to learn from the mistakes of others being fatigued (a little or a lot).

Once again, I am looking at the checklist right now, and turning on the APU is not required nor on the checklist.
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Sorry if you got the wrong impression. I'm just trying to say that more then likely if a person is fatigued they will skip over items on the checklist rather then skip the whole thing. I'm not trying to fault you. I know I've done this fatigued (even though not in the 121 environment).
 
Depends on how the checklist is written. At 9E, we don't have separate checklist for "APU on" and "APU off" shutdowns. In fact, we've got one shutdown checklist that doesn't even get run until after all the engines are off. There's one flow for the CA, but (in the book) it doesn't differentiate between APU on or off. If you're not paying attention, and you run the flow like it is in the book, you'll go dark. You won't even be halfway through the flow when it happens, either. Now, if you're not in a hurry, you'll catch it when it goes dark right after you turn the second gen off. Then you can just flip the switch back, and no harm, no foul. So, depending on the company, it's POSSIBLE to not skip any items on a checklist or not miss a checklist and this still happen.
 
flyingmaniac said:
So the question is...what have people done or mistakes made when fatigued?
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...signed up for flight lessons. *rimshot*

No, but seriously...I think the worst thing I did was try to save an approach (visual) when, looking back, I clearly should have re-entered the pattern and tried again. It could have ended much worse than a bruised ego from the go-around. Much worse. Lesson learned.

-mini
 
flyingmaniac said:
So the question is...what have people done or mistakes made when fatigued?
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Ask me how I know about the generator thing. :) Probably the most common thing is missing radio calls. One or so isn't that big a deal, but if you're consistently missing them (and your head keeps hitting the side window), it's time to call it a day.
 
flyingmaniac said:
For fuel saving measures, we don't turn the APU on until just before pulling up to the gate. Beforehand all eyes are outside the cockpit for avoidance.

And turning on the APU is not required if the electrical is hooked up first, nor is it on the checklist to turn on after landing-in the CRJ 700 at my airline.
Click to expand...

Got to watch out for the APU Sheriff in ATL :D
 
Both of my "wow, im fatigued and shouldnt be here" moments came after landing and taxiing on the last leg of a stand up (CDO, high speed, whatever your airline calls it)

First time we were taxiing in, I got one of those initial taxi instructions where they rattle off a bunch of stuff. This was my base airport and they give the same instructions every time, so nothing new at all. The control rattles of the instructions, and I was confused and didnt know why. I then asked for a repeat. I still didnt understand. I basically thought the controller was confused on our location. I then looked over at the captain and he read back the instructions. I then looked at him all confused. He then looked at me like "what the ef is your problem." I then ran the instructions through my head again and finally understood them and was shocked that I was so confused as they werent anything out of the ordinary. I turned back to my captain and said "damn, im fatigued man.." That was the last leg, so I went home and slept all day long.

Second time we taxiied onto the wrong taxiway. 2 parallel taxiways, paralleling a runway. We took the first one instead of the second. We have 2 legs coming back home after a stand up. Both included approaches to minimums with alot of work. The captain was on day reserve and was suddenly thrown onto a stand up, so his body was all jacked up and didnt know what was going on, and I was busy with the after landing flow. Neither of us knew we did anything wrong until ramp cleared us into the gate and then told us to talk to ground. We got a tounge lashing since it was under a mile vis, and the tower didnt have visual contact with anyone and we didnt help any matters by taking the wrong taxiway.
 
When VFR single-pilot cargo, trimmed-up and tracking towards a VORTAC on a long day, lay your chin down towards your chest just to rest your eyes for a minute. Lift head up after "just a minute" to see the OBS reading "OFF", none of the surrounding terrain looking immediately familiar, and the plane having descended about 500'...........
 
MikeD said:
When VFR single-pilot cargo, trimmed-up and tracking towards a VORTAC on a long day, lay your chin down towards your chest just to rest your eyes for a minute. Lift head up after "just a minute" to see the OBS reading "OFF", none of the surrounding terrain looking immediately familiar, and the plane having descended about 500'...........
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So the ATIS didn't wake you up?

:)
 
flyingmaniac said:
You land in Atlanta, pull up to the gate and turn off the engines and forget to turn the APU on. The airplane goes black and you look at the captain and the captain looks at you and you both smack your heads and then you turn the APU on.

I would like to make this thread into a "Factors of Fatigue", which explains the mistakes that a pilot might or might not make due to the flaccid regulations that the airlines or operators abide by.

Please give your lessons learned from being fatigued.

Thank You,
Click to expand...

Sometimes....when I become real fatigued I become flaccid too. Trust me....big mistake!!!
 
...you wake up somewhere over Ohio in the middle of the night with your contacts stuck to your eyes staring at the overhead which appears to be a whitish blob due to aforementioned contact issues. It takes you about 10 seconds to remember that you're at FL250 hauling an MD-11 windshield to PHL. Luckily you're the only guy flying for hundreds of miles and the radio is quiet.

Lesson learned? More coffee.

Or you know so I've heard.
 
You wake up in the hotel not knowing where you are and there is a ton of snow outside. After a new minutes you realize you know the hotel, been there before, etc. You go out, get in your rental car and drive home. Getting home you notice your car is not in the carport. You ask your wife about it and she asks how the flight home was.

DAMM, left the plane in PA.....
 
Fatigued is when...
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You are in Iraq and have a mission to fly from point A to B to pick up troops, then from B to C to drop off troops. You fly from A to B successfully and pick up the troops. You take off from B to go to C. Ten minutes later you recognize something familiar in the distance and you realize you just flew back to A.
 
"XXXX ground XXX 1234 ramp 2 with Z"

"XXX 1234 XXXX ground. Taxi blah blah blah. Information N is current."

*looks down to briefing sheet I am holding in my hand (right side up)*

Ah...that is an "N"
 
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