Asleep In The Cockpit?

(CBS)  Passengers on Go! Airlines flight 1002 took off on time last Wednesday morning expecting a short flight.

But they got more than they paid for, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

"When I noticed we weren't descending I told my wife - she was sitting to my left - I mentioned to her, 'I think something's kind of weird in this flight pattern,'" said passenger Derrick Lining.

Weird, because the pilots on the flight from Honolulu, which normally takes 30 minutes to reach Hilo, overshot their landing by 15 miles before finally turning around. Air traffic controllers had tried to reach them for 25 minutes, but heard nothing back.

"We're investigating whether the pilot and co-pilot of Go! Airlines inter-island flight fell asleep while the plane was in the air between Honolulu and Hilo," said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Barry Schiff is an airline-safety expert who says pilot fatigue is a bigger problem than the flying public knows.

"I don't think the public has any idea how tired these pilots are," Schiff said. "But of course they get a cheap ticket, don't they?"

A passenger on a Go! flight said: "Any time you hear of a pilot going to sleep on a flight - especially the flight you're on - yeah, it makes you real nervous."

A statement from Mesa Airlines read: "We are cooperating fully. We have no further comment."

Mesa Airlines, which runs Go! Airlines, said in a statement today that it is cooperating with the FAA.

Pilots for Mesa Airlines have complained in the past about tight schedules and staffing shortages.

The FAA plans to interview the pilots of this flight to find out exactly what went wrong.

[pilot1bill]

Why are pilots sleepy? Maybe because many pilots now work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. They cannot feed their family on wages as low as 17K per year! Also the airlines typically base pilot crews in some very expensive cities, like NY, SFO, LAX. Translation? These pilots are forced to commute from a low cost of living areas, like Alabama or Arkansas (sorry) to more expensive places like NYC/JFK/SFO/SAN/DCA/ORD. These pilots whom are now tired from the commute to work often try to rest on a dirty sofa in a noisy pilot lounge before their flight. Just because this may have been their "first flight of the day" this does not reflect all of the hoops and resulting fatigue that many pilots experience before flight. It is time to restore respectable pay and working condtions to the pilot profession. Keep treating pilots like underpaid bus drivers and this will repeat again and again.

[planeken]

I am also a former pilot for MESA. All of this is true about MESA. They are a terrible Company to work for. However, I also hold the FAA resposible for this. We have complained to the FAA for YEARS about this, as well as other practices affecting the safety of flight that MESA initiates, but the FAA just tells us that it is a "Company Issue" and things just continue. Believe me, the FAA should be investigated here as well. I could never understand how MESA was allowed to "push the envelope" so far without any intervention by the FAA. It is scary!!!

[flyhigh2000]

I was also a pilot for Mesa Airlines and on many occasions my crew was put on minimum 8 hrs rest(minus wait 45min for the hotel van, 30 min van ride, 1hr to fall asleep,wake up 1hr early for van ride plus 30 min van ride= 5:15hrs of rest)then to fly six flights in a 15hr duty day. That is grueling when its done day in and day out and will always result in fatigue. If you mention your tired, they will connect you to management to "ask you to fly" read: coercion. Ask any current or former Mesa Pilot, they will tell you that the middle and upper management does not care about the flight crews well being.

[mrassekh]

If they do fall asleep, you can''''t knock on the door for fear of disappearing into the GULAG for years without a trial or phone call to the kids. I guess you just sit in your seat and die qietly.

Posted by magoo2u1

Exactly what I was thinking!

[ov442]

You''re assuming that the control tower was trying to reach them for the 25 minutes of a 30 minute trip, when in fact, they began trying to contact them in hte last 10 minutes of the 30 minute trip when they failed to begin landing preparations, and continued contacting them as they flew by and headed out to sea, and still yet, as they were turning around and coming back.

[slim1h2o]

Weird, because the pilots on the flight from Honolulu, which normally takes 30 minutes to reach Hilo, overshot their landing by 15 miles before finally turning around. Air traffic controllers had tried to reach them for 25 minutes, but heard nothing back.
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These numbers don''t add up. Unless, the pilots dozed off within 5 minutes after take-off.

If that''s the case,,,How in the h3ll can anybody, in that situation,,, fall asleep that fast? And two of them yet!

You''d think they could pinch each other to stay awake,, don''t ya think?

[brianbwb-2009]

Until then, it''''s "fill those seats" & "keep the planes moving!" Posted by Keithle1

While yours is quite a valid observation, I cannot help but remember that you are consistently one of the advocates of "conservative" politics and economics, which chooses not to enforce many safety regulations, and basically nullified years of hard fought for union protections and benefits.

It would seem that the airlines'' increased profits, made partly from cutting back on pilots, safety inspections, and other cost saving measures, as well as forcing fewer pilots to fly longer hours without adequate rest, a well as the same conditions existing for the air traffic controllers, should be OK by you, because for the "conservative" pure capitalists, profit is more important than life.

So while your observation is spot on, it still seems strange coming from someone with your history of advocacy for "conservative" economic positions.

[keithle1]

No one will care until a big jet crashes in the USA killing everyone on board & the cause is traced to pilot fatigue. Then we''ll have commissions, task forces, congressional committees, investigations, etc.

Until then, it''s "fill those seats" & "keep the planes moving!"

[magoo2u1]

If they do fall asleep, you can''t knock on the door for fear of disappearing into the GULAG for years without a trial or phone call to the kids. I guess you just sit in your seat and die qietly.

[cyberus-2009]

The rules for pilot flight time/down time are looser than whats required for truck drivers and they are talking about changing trucker rules to shorten drive times and increase rest time.
Of course most truckers aren''t being paid by huge corporations that are screaming about going bankrupt while the corp execs get multi-million dollars bonuses ... hmmmmmmmm