Airman Education Programs Topics of Interest
Updated: 3:53 am ET July 23, 2005
You're Not Tired, Are You?
By Eric Simson
It's about 8 PM, you've completed the aircraft inspection and pre-flight checklist, finding no problems. The flight plan has been filed, and a check of the weather shows clear skies to your destination, two hours away. Your qualifications are current and you consider yourself a better-than-average pilot. Life couldn't be better-but are you really ready for that flight? How well you will be able to perform could come down to whether you are able to stay alert and awake. A dangerous situation, fatigue, could ruin your perfect day.
Your body is a "well-oiled machine" and, like most machines, works on a cycle. The cycle, in the case of the human body, is the circadian rhythm, also referred to as the "biological clock." It is a 25-hour period in which the body goes from a state of rest, through activity, and returns to rest. As we are in a 24-hour world, this usually does not present a problem. So long as we are working within the body's activity schedule, this type of fatigue is less likely to be a problem. Unfortunately, when we work outside the "normal" series of daily events, such as late at night or where time zones are crossed which detract from the hours in our day, circadian fatigue can, and often does, pose a serious hazard. more....
By Eric Simson
It's about 8 PM, you've completed the aircraft inspection and pre-flight checklist, finding no problems. The flight plan has been filed, and a check of the weather shows clear skies to your destination, two hours away. Your qualifications are current and you consider yourself a better-than-average pilot. Life couldn't be better-but are you really ready for that flight? How well you will be able to perform could come down to whether you are able to stay alert and awake. A dangerous situation, fatigue, could ruin your perfect day.
Your body is a "well-oiled machine" and, like most machines, works on a cycle. The cycle, in the case of the human body, is the circadian rhythm, also referred to as the "biological clock." It is a 25-hour period in which the body goes from a state of rest, through activity, and returns to rest. As we are in a 24-hour world, this usually does not present a problem. So long as we are working within the body's activity schedule, this type of fatigue is less likely to be a problem. Unfortunately, when we work outside the "normal" series of daily events, such as late at night or where time zones are crossed which detract from the hours in our day, circadian fatigue can, and often does, pose a serious hazard. more....
3:53 am ET July 23, 2005