66% of Indian pilots fall asleep in cockpit without alerting crew, says survey

Highlighting the risks of pilots falling asleep on duty, a recent survey on 542 Indian pilots found that around 66 per cent of them admitted to have dozed off in the cockpit without the knowledge of their fellow crew members.

The survey, conducted by an NGO named Safety Matters Foundation, stated that 66 per cent of the participants experienced microsleep being on duty or unintentionally fell asleep in the cockpit, according to The Times of India.

"Based on their responses, it was found that about 54 per cent of the pilots suffer from severe excessive daytime sleepiness, while 41 per cent suffer from moderate daytime sleepiness," the survey said.

Also read: Here's the real reason to turn on airplane mode when you fly

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defined fatigue in aviation as: “A physiological state of reduced mental or physical performance capability resulting from sleep loss, extended wakefulness, circadian phase, and/or workload (mental and/or physical activity) that can impair a person’s alertness and ability to perform safety related operational duties.”

Majority of the pilots (74 per cent) said that back-to-back morning flights was the primary reason for fatigue. The participants said that they would have to wake up between 3 am and 3.30 am if they had to report for a 6 am flight departure.

The survey further referred to the 2010 Mangaluru crash which had claimed 158 lives.

"Residual sleepiness and impaired judgement were believed to have contributed to this accident. The cockpit voice recorder indicated that the Captain had been asleep for 1 hour and 40 minutes of the 2 hours and 5 minutes flight," the survey said.