Monthly Archives: December 2008

Today in the Sky’s Ben Mutzabaugh reported an interesting story about two pilots who admitted to falling asleep during a flight. Apparently the aircraft was on autopilot when the incident occurred, allowing for the aircraft to overshoot the Hilo airport by approximately 30 miles. This story isn’t exactly new – it occurred in February, but that also means I wasn’t around to discuss it. You might remember hearing that Go! fired the pilots, and the FAA suspended their licenses soon after.  ”The warm Hawaiian sun was blaring in as we went eastbound. I just kind of closed my eyes for a minute, enjoying the sunshine, and dozed off,” said one of the pilots to the Star-Bulletin. The other pilot reportedly could hear was was going on but couldn’t make sense of it. My question is: why are pilots falling asleep in the middle of a flight?

As a pilot myself, but not anywhere near experienced, I must butt in here and say that this is just absurd. By the time you begin the start-up engine process a pilot should be well awake. Before pilots fly a flight they must first gather weather information and develop / get the flight plan. Then pilots are to thoroughly inspect the exterior of the aircraft before startup to ensure it is safe and airworthy. After they complete the pre-flight inspection they can begin the startup process. By now, you would think, a pilot would be more than wide awake. It brings me to question pilot fatigue. Are pilots flying more than they should? Should they get less hours? Regardless of whether airlines are overflying their pilots, there is no excuse for those Go! pilots. Appropriate steps by both the FAA and Go! were taken. 

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