Pilots sleep through landing procedure

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

Holy crap.
Pilots sleep through landing procedure
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3074870/Pilots-sleep-through-landing-procedure.html

Captain Scott Oltman, 54, and First Officer Dillon Shepley, 24, dozed off during the brief midmorning flight from Honolulu to Hilo, on Hawaii.

The Federal Aviation Administration suspended the men for the careless and reckless operation of an aircraft. Both were fired by Hawaii's Go airlines, operator of the February 13 flight which was carrying 40 passengers.

Mr Oltman was also cited for failing to maintain radio communications and banned from flying for 60 days. Mr Shepley had his flying licence suspended for 45 days. Both completed their suspensions earlier this month but an FAA spokesman said he did not know if they were flying again with a different airline.

The men had been given a 15 hour break before their shift, nearly double the FAA minimum. Mr Oltman was later diagnosed with a severe obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder which can lead to extreme fatigue.

An investigation found no obvious explanation for why both men fell asleep. There were no problems with the aircraft's pressurisation system or carbon monoxide levels.

Over a period of 17 minutes, air traffic controllers made nearly a dozen unanswered calls to the men.

In recordings obtained by The Associated Press, the controller is heard repeatedly trying to contact the pilots and speaking to the pilot of another Go flight.

"I'm worried he might be in an emergency situation," the controller says.

Radio contact was finally established 44 minutes into what is usually a 45-minute flight. By this time, the plane had overshot Hilo airport by 15 miles. The flight crew was ordered to return and landed safely.

[Manedwolf]

They better not be flying anything but a cargo dog in some banana republic.

[Fly320s]

Not the first time it's happened.  Won't be the last.

[Josh Aston]

And they wonder why people don't trust the airlines.

[Fly320s]

Right, because the hundreds of thousands of people who fly everyday are in grave jeopardy.   

Even pilots are human; they make mistakes. 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Ooops.

[Josh Aston]

Even pilots are human; they make mistakes.

I'm fine with them making mistakes.  Just not when my life is in their hands and we're thousands of feet up in the air.

[Standing Wolf]

Pilots sleep through landing procedure

How does a "landing procedure" differ from a "landing"?

[RocketMan]

Pilots sleep through landing procedure

How does a "landing procedure" differ from a "landing"?

It was just typical poor reporting.  The reporters got the facts wrong, again.

[Fly320s]

Media interpretation most likely.  The pilots probably slept through the top-of-descent point.

Even pilots are human; they make mistakes.

I'm fine with them making mistakes.  Just not when my life is in their hands and we're thousands of feet up in the air.

I guess that you don't fly at all.

[Manedwolf]

Right, because the hundreds of thousands of people who fly everyday are in grave jeopardy.   

Even pilots are human; they make mistakes. 

Mistake? Sure. Falling asleep and missing multiple radio calls? That should be a career ender.

[Fly320s]

Agreed.  And it was in this case.

[Jamisjockey]

Yep, probably blew the beginning of a STAR.  Media interpretation of lingo they don't understand, nor bother to research.

[drewtam]

I thought it was all computer controlled nowadays anyhow. They don't even touch the controls anymore, they just watch it land.

[Fly320s]

That can happen, but the pilots have to push the right buttons to make it work.  Just like your computer doesn't do much until you tell it to.

Also, flaps and gear are always pilot-controlled.

[Perd Hapley]

.

[MechAg94]

I hate to break from the pilot bashing, but isn't is pretty unusual for both pilots to be asleep?  I realize they supposedly ruled out other failures.

[Fly320s]

Very unusual.  We normally sleep in shifts. 

I don't know how it was discovered that the pilots were asleep, but obviously they missed radio calls and the top-of-decent point.  That's hard to do when someone is awake.  Sure, radio calls get missed, but everyone wants to land.

[Manedwolf]

Very unusual.  We normally sleep in shifts. 

I don't know how it was discovered that the pilots were asleep, but obviously they missed radio calls and the top-of-decent point.  That's hard to do when someone is awake.  Sure, radio calls get missed, but everyone wants to land.

Missed radio calls like that could be Very Bad in other areas.

Imagine if that happened over a major US city, LA, New York, or worst of all, someone fell asleep and busted D.C. airspace?

A missile is a hell of a wakeup call.

[MechAg94]

I guess what I was getting at was it seems suspicious that there was no other issue that contributed to the drowsiness, but maybe I am just taking it easy on the pilots.

[seeker_two]

Very unusual.  We normally sleep in shifts. 

I don't know how it was discovered that the pilots were asleep, but obviously they missed radio calls and the top-of-decent point.  That's hard to do when someone is awake.  Sure, radio calls get missed, but everyone wants to land.

Missed radio calls like that could be Very Bad in other areas.

Imagine if that happened over a major US city, LA, New York, or worst of all, someone fell asleep and busted D.C. airspace?

A missile is a hell of a wakeup call.

And that is the quote of the week.... 

[Jamisjockey]

I guess what I was getting at was it seems suspicious that there was no other issue that contributed to the drowsiness, but maybe I am just taking it easy on the pilots.

You mean like late night partying in a strange city?  Pilots would never do that.....
 

[Fly320s]

I guess what I was getting at was it seems suspicious that there was no other issue that contributed to the drowsiness, but maybe I am just taking it easy on the pilots.

I haven't read of any other factors, mechanical or otherwise, that were cited as contributing factors.  It's been so long now that I don't even remember what time of day the flight was.

[One of Many]

One of the two was diagnosed with sleep apnea after this incident. That explains why he would have fallen asleep; it is a severe sleep disorder that causes extreme exhaustion, and many fatal accidents occur with drivers suffering from this disorder.

I don't know if FAA rules allow someone with sleep apnea to fly aircraft. If not, this pilot may be considered disabled due to this condition. It is treatable, with a device called a CPAP, that forces pressurized air into the patient, in order to maintain blood oxygen levels at safe levels while sleeping.

The second pilot apparently does not have any medical condition that caused him to nod off.

[Jamisjockey]

The second pilot apparently does not have any medical condition that caused him to nod off.

I can tell you from personal experience that if he wasn't in his homeport he might have been out living it up the night before.  Alot of pilots (Certainly not the majority) take advantage of the nights away from home to act like they are 21, nail stewardesses, and drink heavily.