Half of British pilots admit to falling asleep in cockpit, survey finds

More than half of British airline pilots say they have fallen asleep in the cockpit, a survey says, ahead of an EU vote on flying hours, which a pilots’ association said could compromise flight safety.

According to the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), 56 per cent of 500 commercial pilots admitted to being asleep while on the flight deck and, of those, nearly one in three said they had woken up to find their co-pilot also asleep.

Pilot exhaustion made the headlines this week when a newspaper reported two pilots on a British long-haul flight fell asleep in the cockpit, leaving the packed jet travelling unsupervised on autopilot.

The survey, released by BALPA, came ahead of a vote in the European Parliament on Monday on new rules that could replace British regulations. BALPA, a union for pilots, voiced concerns the proposed changes would water down British safety standards.

The rule changes would mean that pilots could work a maximum of 110 hours in two weeks, more than the 95-hour limit under British regulations, and at night could be expected to fly for up to 11 hours, up from the 10-hour limit.

'Major challenge'
"Tiredness is already a major challenge for pilots who are deeply concerned that unscientific new EU rules will cut UK standards and lead to increased levels of tiredness, which has been shown to be a major contributory factor in air accidents," BALPA general secretary Jim McAuslan said. The proposals, devised by the European Aviation Safety Agency to harmonise the rules regarding pilots' hours across the EU, would also mean they could be called to work at any time on their days off.

The survey by ComRes, found 84 per cent of respondents believetheir abilities had were compromised in the last six months by tiredness. with almost half saying pilot exhaustion was the biggest threat to flight safety.
–(Reuters)