Influence of polar route schedules on the duty and rest patterns of aircrew

Stone, Barbara M.; Spencer, Michael B.; Rogers, A. S.; Nicholson, A. N.; Barnes, Rory M.; Green, R.

doi:10.1080/00140139308968014

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The UK CAA then went on to support a more detailed study of pilots from many airlines around the world, creating the SAFE biomathematical model and using it as part of the evidence to approve (or not) the repeal of a regulation. It is designed for aviation applications and has been validated specifically for use in the aviation industry on behalf of the UK CAA, as it has collected a wealth of data from over three decades of crew missions conducted by commercial air carriers worldwide [ 10 – 15 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is designed for aviation applications and has Table 1 Restrictions on crews in the exemption and CCAR-121 policies a , the CCAR-121 Part expansion flight crew should include at least one person qualified as a captain and one person qualified as a cruise pilot or above. b , there should be at least three or more complete flight crews, each of which should consist of at least one qualified captain (including a cruise captain) and one qualified copilot been validated specifically for use in the aviation industry on behalf of the UK CAA, as it has collected a wealth of data from over three decades of crew missions conducted by commercial air carriers worldwide [10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Safe Model Simulation Calculationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means that mechanical models will always underestimate the level of fatigue of the crew. In contrast, the system for aircrew fatigue evaluation (SAFE) [10][11][12][13][14][15], commissioned by the UK Civil Aviation Authority and designed, built and validated by the research team at FRMSc, the UK Ministry of Defence research agency DERA (now QinetiQ plc), is an empirical model based on empirical data, and empirical models perform better than mechanical models based on simulation studies of datasets. The SAFE model was built from the results of a continuous research programme in operation since the early 1980s.…”

Section: Maximummentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flight crew fatigue risk assessment for international flights under the COVID-19 outbreak response exemption policy

Sun

et al. 2022

BMC Public Health

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Background In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has formulated Implementation Measures for Exemption of Crew Duty Periods and Flight Time Restrictions during the COVID-19 Outbreak. This exemption policy imposes temporary deviations from the approved crew duty periods and flight time restrictions for some transport airlines and regulates the use of multiple crews for continuous round-trip flights. However, no research has been conducted on flight crew fatigue under this exemption policy. That is, the exemption policy lacks theoretical analysis and scientific validation. Methods Firstly, flight plans for international flights under both the exemption and the CCAR-121 Policy schemes (with three flight departure scenarios: early morning, midday and evening) are designed, and flight plans are simulated based on the SAFE model. The Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and the PVT objective test of alertness, both of which are commonly used in the aviation industry, are then selected for use in an empirical experimental study of flight crew fatigue on two flights subject to the exemption and CCAR-121 policies. Results The SAFE model simulation found that the fatigue risk results based on flight crews for flights departing in the early morning (4:00), at noon (12:00) and in the evening (20:00) indicate that the fatigue risk levels of flight crews operating under the exemption policy are overwhelmingly lower than or similar to those operating under the CCAR-121 policy. However, there were a few periods when the fatigue risk of crews flying under the exemption policy was higher than that of crews flying under the CCAR-121 policy, but at these times, the crews flying under both policies were either at a lower level of fatigue risk or were in the rest phase of their shifts. In the experimental study section, 40 pilots from each of the early morning (4:00), noon (12:00) and evening (20:00) departures operating under the exemption policy were selected to collect KSS scale data and PVT test data during their duty periods, and a total of 120 other pilots operating under the CCAR-121 policy were selected for the same experiment. First, the KSS scale data results found that flight pilots, whether flying under the exemption policy or under the CCAR-121 policy, had overall similar KSS scores, maintained KSS scores below the fatigue risk threshold (i.e., KSS score < 6) during the flights and that the empirical KSS data and the model simulation results from the KSS data were overall identical at the test nodes during the flight and had nearly identical trends. Finally, the results of the PVT objective test indicators showed that the overall change in 1/RT of the crews flying under the exemption policy was less than or similar to that of the crews flying under the CCAR-121 policy, while the maximum change in 1/RT of the crews under both policies was between 1 and 1.5. This indicates that the overall level of alertness of the crew flying under the exemption policy is higher than or similar to that of the crew flying under the CCAR-121 policy, while the change in alertness level of the crew before and after the mission is relatively small when flying under either policy. Conclusion Based on the model simulation results and the results of the empirical study, it was verified that the overall fatigue risk level of flight crews operating under the exemption policy is lower than or similar to the fatigue risk level of flight crews operating under the CCAR-121 policy. Therefore, the exemption policy in response to the COVID-19 outbreak does not result in an overall increase in the level of flight crew fatigue risk compared to the original CCAR-121 policy.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Safe Model Simulation Calculationmentioning

confidence: 99%