INVESTIGATION: Are Regional Airline Pilots Rested?

although, they kept saying Delta connection and saw only NW airplanes and also they say that pilots can fly up to 16 hrs a day? Holy crap!

That's because there is no more "Northwest."

Any regional aircraft you see painting in Northwest colors are operating as "Delta Connection."

"Welcome to Delta Connection flight 2159 operated by Pinnacle.."
"Welcome to Delta Connection flight 5896 operated by Mesaba.."
"Welcome to Delta Connection flight 1982 operated by Compasss.."
 
I also would like to know what law was broken? It would be interesting to see if Mesaba has a line in their Flight Operations Manual about not speaking to the media, and if their management tries to hang this pilot out to dry because of it. Even though it is a hidden camera.

In one breath we complain about our horrendous rest rules, then in the next breath we talk about how we need to lie to our passengers about how our lifestyle truly is. If I had a nickel for every time someone has said, "If only the general public knew about [topic of the day]!" then I'd be rich. Now, the public does know, yet it's our dirty little secret.

Interestingly enough, even if the pilot was not "at the lake," there are many fatigue studies that would show that after a two or three days of stand-ups/highspeeds/etc., you're operating at a much lower state of alertness than you would be following a more regimented sleep schedule. It's called cumulative sleep debt. Think about the body clock, circadian rhythms, and so forth. High_Alpha, have you ever been on a "backside of the clock" sleep schedule?
 
I missed that part. What reg did he break?

I'm guessing he meant flying fatigued would be a known impairment/deficiency.

FlyChicaga, I'm not saying we need to lie to the public about the legitimate problems with the duty regs. By all means people should know that our rest starts 15min from engine shutdown regardless of how long it takes to get to the hotel room, etc., etc. My point was that if we as pilots are saying that the current duty regs are causing safety to be compromised because they don't allow adequate rest, then how reckless and inexcusable is it to willfully compromise safety by flying fatigued because you wanted to go to the lake? Is a day at the lake more important than safety, or are we just taking advantage of the current media attention to try to improve our contracts?

I'm not saying the regs don't need to be updated, and I'm not necessarily saying that the person who spent the day at the lake is unprofessional or unsafe. I'm not even disagreeing with you about high-speeds running you down after a while, I'm just saying that we have to be consistent: If fatigue is the urgent safety issue we're all saying that it is, we'd better make sure we're at least doing everything in our own power to not fly fatigued. Agree?

And yes, I've commuted to 2 straight months of high-speeds, and I've sat reserve flying a mix of high-speeds and day flying, been signed off reserve late morning to fly a high-speed that night, etc.
 
OK Color me cyan, I mean cynical...

I am superman. I can hack the legal limit all the time with no diminished perfomance. Put me up to the max limits everyday and with reduced rest. I can sleep in the van, can't you?

If I wanted to work 8 or 9 hours with appropriate breaks and then get 15 or 16 hours of rest on the same schedule I'd work in a bank. People know that pilots work best under extreme stress day after day, as we are superhuman.

Also, remember crewmembers, it is YOUR responsibility to rest. Who cares if the drunk guy stumbles into the fire alarm handle on NY's eve, or the police sirens wake you up for the gang war being fought outside your hotel window.

For all you sissies non hackers out there, if you ever call out fatigued, you had better ASAP the heck out of it, as flying fatigued is a no-no. Remember the FAA is not there to help us, it is out to hang us so cover your wussy backsides...

The emperor has no clothes, and as far as I am concerned the biggest factor of the last two fatal airline crashes in this country was fatigue and the FAA and the industry are guilty of institutional mass murder.
 
lolwut?

breaking the law because he said he'd rather be at the lake?

give me a break. this whole deal is way out of hand. hell yeah pilots are tired. it shouldnt be some black mark that he made that statement. YES, PILOTS ARE TIRED AND GET SHAFTED ON SCHEDULES. do you disagree?

oh and actually ps - i hear PLENTY of cops talking about how they beat up this or that guy, kicked the crap out of some *insert offensive racial descriptor here*, etc etc. cops LOVE to brag about their power-trip behaviors.

see, i can generalize too!
A little bit of a misunderstanding here...I was responding to what I quoted, not to the article.

The guy thinks its sad you have to put on your "PC filter" when you're in uniform. I think it's what a professional is supposed to do. /shrug

A layperson at the gate doesn't know the difference between "tired" "exhausted" and "fatigued". To them it all means "Colgan crash in buffalo". So keep your mouth shut.

Also...am I being raked over the coals by someone who has actually flown for an airline? Or are you just outraged about "wut u red on teh internet".
 
The emperor has no clothes, and as far as I am concerned the biggest factor of the last two fatal airline crashes in this country was fatigue and the FAA and the industry are guilty of institutional mass murder.
Yeah, that. Me too. I'm with you.
 
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