Posts Tagged ‘FAA’

Renegade Drone Invades Restricted, Sleeping Airspace of Washington

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

MQ-8B

A renegade U.S. Navy MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) invaded the restricted…and sleeping…airspace of Washington, D.C. last week. Most of the nation is still unaware of the most recent incursion into the highly restricted airspace because few media sources covered the dangerous invasion, probably in response to government requests. Where was the protection assigned to this critical airspace? Why are we flying drones over densely populated civilian airspace when the FAA has supposedly not yet approved their use? How was this drone able to evade the sleeping radar protecting our capitol’s skies? Where was our Department of Homeland Security? Was the department in bed with the FAA, sound asleep, as the drone approached? Many questions regarding this invasion need to be asked of both Homeland Security and the FAA.

The Navy’s Fire Scout MQ-8B is a Schweitzer 333 helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman-Ryan Aeronautical of San Diego. It is capable of traveling up to 110 nautical miles, remain airborne (up to 20,000 ft) for more than 5 hours, and can carry a payload of up to 270kg (594 lbs). It can take off and land on its own. The MQ-8B is radar and laser equipped and can be armed with two four-packs of 2.75in laser-guided rocket launchers. The UAV is not small enough to easily evade radar systems. It is 31.7 ft long and 9.8 ft tall and weighs 3,150 lbs loaded with fuel. A Rolls-Royce 250C20W heavy fuel turboshaft engine powers the aircraft. The UAV has already undergone extensive testing onboard the USS McInerney. How was an unmanned aerial vehicle of this size able to evade Department of Defense, Homeland Security, NSA, and FAA security measures long enough to get within 40 miles of the capitol?

The invasion of the renegade drone is not expected to delay further testing, development, and integration of the MQ-8B systems into littoral combat ships for operational use. The Navy awarded a $32.9 million dollar second year contract to Northrop Grumman-Ryan to build the systems. The renegade UAV incident was described as “learning experience” by Capt. Tim Dunigan, the Fire Scout’s program manager. The “software anomaly” which allowed the UAV to drift away from the control of its ground station has already been corrected. Rob Murphy, a team leader for the Scout program, said the incident helps people to understand the safeguards that are in place. “The operators did lose communication, but they were able to regain it. The system operated like it was supposed to,” he said. Flights of the MQ-8B, grounded for a couple of weeks, were expected to resume this month.

David Vos, senior director of unmanned aerial systems for Rockwell Collins and a member of AUVSI’s UAV Advocacy Committee, was quoted in DefenseNews.com saying, “I’m pretty confident that despite these little hiccups, that this decade is when unmanned aerial systems really begin to find their way into commercial airspace.” He said the industry needs “all the cultural elements and different groups involved to stop being fearful and start moving along” on the commercial airspace issue.

Our fears are apparently as misguided as are the systems controlling Mr. Vos’ UAV and as misguided as Homeland Security, the NSA, and the FAA in their security protection systems. We should just petition the FAA to approve the use of UAVs in civilian airspace? I have no doubt that President Obama is already on the verge of doing so since he is so enamored by UAVs that he suggested (in jest, of course, at a recent Washington Formal Prom) using them on the Jonas Brothers if they came after any of his daughters. Imagine our commercial civilian skies invaded by UAVs being operated by law enforcement agencies, by weather research agencies, by energy companies tracking pipelines, by businesses spying on their competitors. Randy Babbitt (FAA Administrator), who “brilliantly” stated recently that “landing is one of the most critical phases of flight,” will certainly succumb to the pressures of a President who loves his “predator drones.” His concerns for safe landings and take offs of civilian aircraft in cluttered air space will die in a crash with this President’s arrogance of power.

Civilian safety in the air, the stated mission of the FAA, pales in comparison to the threat of UAVs in the hands of terrorists. Less than two weeks ago, Iran President Ahmadinejad unveiled their first domestically built UAV bomber, the “Karrar,” which Iranian media claims to be capable of “long-range attacks up to 1,000 kilometers carrying a 200-kilogram bomb.” He called it “a symbol of death to Iran’s enemies.” His next words then described the drone as “a messenger of salvation and dignity for humanity.”

Drones over civilian skies in America are nothing more than a threat to our liberty. Jerome Whitehead, in  “Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home,” reminds us of James Madison’s words:

 “A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence against foreign danger, have always been the instruments of tyranny at home.”

We still have time to launch a defense against this attack on our liberty as well as our safety. Petition our legislators to deny the use of drones in civilian airspace. Do not allow our government another “instrument of tyranny” at home. Drones are not our “messengers of  salvation and dignity,” as some would have them take that “role.” Remember our liberty in November.

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.

Click HERE for a video on the MQ-8B.

See additonal postings for drones: 

           “Insomniac Spies in the Sky – Friendly or Enemy Eyes Lurking?”

           “Sleepless Drones Flying U.S. Skies Pose Threat to Public Safety”

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FAA Sleeps Through Calls to Reconsider Antidepressant/SSRI Ruling

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Antidepressants/SSRIs

The FAA announced in April ( see previous post) that its pilots could be permitted to fly while under the influence of certain antidepressants and SSRIs. The reversal of its own long established (70 year) ban against their use shocked pilots, passengers, and psychiatrists across the globe. As antidepressant/SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) use has decreased due to negative publicity, the manufacturers of Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, and Lexapro cheered the move by Randy Babbbitt (FAA Administrator). The FAA, despite an increasing flood of calls to reconsider its ruling, appears to be sleeping through the irritating clamor; tired of hearing about their fatigued, sleepless pilots.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International / Mental Health Watchdog recently reprinted an article by Evelyn Pringle who described the FAA’s reversal as a “marketing coup” by the drug manufacturers who are “desperate to find new customers.” Her well documented article details the growing concerns of many experts that the “SSRIs Render Unfriendly Skies.”

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights called on the FAA to rethink its policy based on a recent finding by the NTSB that the February 1, 2008 plane crash in North Carolina, killing all six aboard, was caused by “a crazy acting pilot on Zoloft.” The cockpit voice recorder recorded the pilot singing: “Save my life I’m going down for the last time.” He then told his passengers, “If anybody back there believes in the good Lord, I believe now would be a good time to hit your knees.” The pilot descended below the minimum descent altitude, stalled, and crashed while circling after an aborted landing. The pilot, according to the NTSB report, had been on Zoloft for over a year and had been treated previously by other antidepressants for “anxiety and depression” and a history of “impatience” and “compulsiveness.”

The NTSB also blamed a 2003 crash killing two in Kingsport, Tennessee on a flight instructor found with Zoloft in his blood and liver.

Dr. Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist and an SSRI expert, in a Huffington Post article on April 10, 2010 said, “The FAA should reverse its ruling before it’s too late and hundreds of lives are lost when a pilot becomes impulsive, suicidal, or violent – or just loses his sharpness – under the influence of antidepressant medication.”

Bob Fiddaman, author of the website and blog “Seroxat Sufferers,” requested the FAA provide information on its change in policy just after the change in April. In 58 pages of reply the FAA made no mention of any prominent SSRI expert testimony of contrary views. The FAA supported their own views with copies of documents from a variety of sources. One of them actually showed consideration of a 2003 study of aviation accidents where “SSRIs were found in 61 pilot fatalities between 1990 and 2001.”  “Psychological condition and/or the drug use was determined to be the cause, or a factor in 16 of the accidents, or 31%.”

Dennis Canfield’s study “Pilot Medical History and Medications Found in Post Mortem Specimens for Aviation Accidents” was totally ignored by the FAA. His study was conducted in 2006 and was published in the “Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine” journal. 4,143 pilots involved in fatal accidents between 1993 and 2003 were toxicologically examined for medications. One hundred of the dead pilots were found “with SSRIs in their systems including forty with Prozac, twenty-six with Zoloft, twenty-one with Paxil, and thirteen with Celexa.”

Matt Thurber, after citing many examples of accidents involving antidepressant usage, suggests that “pilots who use antidepressants without telling their medical examiners are willing to take greater risks when flying.” The FAA believes that SSRIs help “restore the balance of serotonin.” The FAA believes that their approval for use will result in truthful admissions by pilots; more vigilant tracking; and safer use, with fewer side effects than previous generations of antidepressants. The labels on the prescription bottles argue otherwise with warnings of “anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, and akathisia (psychomotor restlessness).

Dr. Breggin asks why pilots shouldn’t give up their airplanes since doctors are supposed to encourage their depressed patients to give away their guns. How can the FAA expect us to believe that we are safer in planes being piloted by depressed pilots on psychoactive drugs? They are dangerous enough when used alone. When combined with alcohol and benzodiazepines to counteract the insomnia side effects of the antidepressants, the elixir will inevitably cause a disaster.

Millions of innocent lives are at risk every day with sleepless and tired, or medicated and drowsy pilots at the stick. It is time for frequent drug testing of pilots. It is time once again to ground the pilots on antidepressants. A pre-flight test for alertness should also be mandatory. It is time for the FAA to turn off the “machine” and to answer the calls for repeal.

For related posts see:

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.

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Sleepless Drones Flying U.S. Skies Pose Threat to Public Safety

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Reaper Drone art, original source unknown

Though the FAA continues to fly cover for the administration, “holding back” on approvals for expanded use of spying drones in U.S. skies, the flack from public concern for safety continues to grow. The sleepless drones have been flying our skies since 2006 despite reports of “frequent system failures, computer glitches, and human error.” David Zucchino, in his recent article in the Los Angeles Times, reports that “Air Force investigators continue to cite pilot mistakes, coordination snafus, software failures, outdated technology and inadequate flight manuals” for the increasing numbers of crashes. Accident rates are down due to the exponential increase in the use of drones both overseas and at home. The flight time of U.S. drones overseas to provide intelligence and to protect our military’s lives has grown to over 20,000 hours a month according to retired Rear Admiral Thomas J. Cassidy Jr. The Air Force expects more than 300,000 hours to be flown this year, compared to 185,000 last year.

Insitu, Inc., a small Boeing subsidiary in Bingen, WA was granted a $43.7 million dollar contract to build “the military’s next generation of remote-controlled spy craft,” according to the AP in a Seattle PI article on July 31, 2010. The drone industry worldwide has already soared beyond the multi-billion dollar mark. Drones protecting our forces and interests overseas as well as those protecting our international borders are indispensable to our national security. The sleepless drones flying our civilian skies, however, pose a serious threat to public safety. The expanded use of drones, after the FAA’s almost certain “approval,” will endanger commercial pilots, civilian pilots, their passengers, and life on the ground.

The accident reports for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are alarming. In April of 2006 a Predator B, the size of a regional jet, crashed near homes thirty miles from Nogales, Arizona. The NTSB attributed the crash to the drone’s operator who “accidentally shut down the plane’s engine while attempting to deal with a locked up computer console.” The NTSB described the crash as “a wake-up call to hopefully everyone.” In August of 2006 an unmanned QF-4E crashed on take-off from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. The QF-4E is a modified F-4 Phantom II capable of Mach 2 speed (1600 mph) and a range of 1300 miles. It can be flown totally by computer or can be controlled manually using a mobile control station. Holloman, in 2006 was operating 30 QF-4E drones at the time. Smoke from the crash of the large drone could be seen for miles. No one was injured, thankfully. In November of 2006 a UAV crashed in Negev on the Gaza border in close proximity to the populated community of Netiv HaAsarah. A second IDF drone crashed near the town of Beit Hanoun following a technical malfunction. Several hours later a Hamas website released photos of a masked gunman with an apparent IDF drone. In May, 2009 newsherald.com reported that a 20 foot BQM-167 drone washed ashore near Okaloosa Island condominiums. It had been launched by Tyndall AFB and was shot down nearly three months prior to its discovery on the beach. The same article documented two others washed ashore the prior spring. “In February of 2004 another drone crashed onto U.S. 98 near Tyndall.” Bepj.org.uk reported in September 2009 the crash of a UAV at Parc Aberporth Airport in West Wales. The airport is increasingly being used to test civilian and military UAVs while domestic flights continue to take off and land. Military.com reported on March 15, 2010 the crash of an MQ-1 Predator while taking off in southern Afghanistan. Afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com reported on July 28, 2010 the crash of a Luna UAV into the Taliban stronghold of Kunduz province. Because the aircraft went down in an area “littered with IEDs” there were no plans to try to recover it. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force claimed the small 7 foot long craft, weighing about 80 pounds, would have “no benefit to the enemy.”  The Calgary Sun, on July 16, 2010, reported the crash of a Heron UAV being used for training exercises at Canadian Forces Base Suffield. It knocked out power in the surrounding area and traffic was shut down on a section of Hwy. 884 (250km southeast of Calgary), but no injuries were reported. These reports are a sampling of the crashes that are reported. Many more have gone unreported. It is inevitable that our future will bring reports of catastrophic loss of life caused by an errant, or an accurately aimed drone.

Two disturbing thoughts confront us as we watch for the FAA’s inevitable approval to expand drone use over civilian skies. The most obvious threat is the risk of interference with normal air traffic patterns and the possibility of communication interference or, even worse, mid-air collisions. The second, and most sinister threat, is the use of drone aircraft by our enemies here at home…or from remote locations abroad. How will we distinguish the friendly drone from the enemy drone? They’ll certainly be flying below our radar.

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.

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Pakistan Air Lines President Blames Sleepless, Tired Pilots for Crash

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Smoking Hole in Pakistan. Courtesy of AP.

Yet another deadly “smoking hole in the ground” adds to the continuing trail of death left by sleepless and tired pilots being stretched beyond their limits by schedules designed to maximize profits for their employers. 

The worst air crash in Pakistan’s history of Airblue’s flight ED-202 from Karachi to Islamabad killing all 152 aboard may be attributed to pilot fatigue according to the President of Pakistan Air Lines Pilots Association (PALPA). Captain Sohail Baloch told a private news channel “The pilot may be suffering from accumulated fatigue because they are not given adequate leaves.” He added that the pilot was not in a no-fly zone and speculated that the plane was off course due to bad weather. The pilot had to ”resort to visual queues for landing” because communication with the control tower had been lost due to the weather.

The Hindu.com reports that the pilot , Pervez Iqbal Chaudhry, “had 35 years of experience and had logged over 25,000 flying hours.” Airblue official Raheel Ahmed was quoted in the same article explaining that the Airbus A321 was ten years old, had been used by them for the past four years, and was fully serviceable with no technical faults. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the aircraft at 2600 feet was cleared to land when it rose up to 3000 feet for no apparent reason and then disappeared from the radar. “The (control) tower did not receive any SOS message or report of a technical problem before the crash,” Malik said.  

Only nine weeks ago the world was mourning the loss of 158 people in an Air India crash in the Mangalore hills. That “smoking hole” left eight survivors. The experienced British pilot of that flight misjudged his landing so badly (2000 feet) that “senior pilots, including the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (IPCA) are already blaming pilot fatigue for being responsible for the major accident,” as reported in a China Post article. Two years before that “an Air India Express flight from Mumbai to Dubai overshot its destination by 350 miles after its pilots apparently fell asleep due to fatigue.” The ICPA in response to the Mangalore crash sent a letter to the Prime Minister complaining that “up to 78 percent of crashes were caused by fatigue-related human error.” Flight and Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) in India have not been changed since 1992 when they had no scientific basis for the regulations. Attempts were made in 2005 to change the FDTL but the rule changes were withdrawn under pressure from the “private operators.”

The flight and duty time restrictions worldwide reflect the lack of response from the FAA to the plethora of data now available regarding the effects of sleep deprivation upon mental and physical performance. Our rule changes were dropped in 1995 in response the airline industry’s complaints. Even the unions, strongly supported by then President Bill Clinton, wanted to drop the duty time hours from 16 to 14 hours. Andy Pasztor, in a Wall Street Journal article titled “Dispute Over Cost Delays Pilot Rules,” blames the delay in the rule changes on a dispute between the FAA and the White House Office of Management and Budget. Budget officials have told the FAA informally that “the proposal’s projected cost to airlines wasn’t justified by the anticipated safety benefits.”  Since the FAA is controlled by former air line executives and Washington is still held in the firm grip of powerful airline lobbyists like Linda Daschle we cannot expect the “change” promised by our President in the flowered oratory of his campaign.

The European Cockpit Association, a group of pilots unions with over 38,000 members, accuses the European Union (EU) of “ “endangering air safety by failing to act on the recommendations of experts who say cuts in flying hours are needed to curb pilot fatigue.”  The Air Canada Pilots Association, with over 7,000 members, has been asking for changes to Transport Canada’s regulations for years. Dave Ross, of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing pilot unions at six regional airlines, says, “It’s money. If you can’t fly as long as you do today, then that increases your cost.”

 The world continues to scream the alarms to the FAA. The FAA’s mission statement is “to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.” The FAA’s vision statement is “ to reach the next level of safety, efficiency, environmental responsibility and global leadership. We are accountable to the American public and our stakeholders.” The world waits, awake to the ever increasing danger of sleepless and tired pilots threatening our lives. The FAA, Congress, and the Administration continue to hit the snooze button while confined to the bedroom of the airline industry’s sleep inducing lobbyists.

The “smoking holes” of death and the smells of burning flesh are permeating the atmosphere of Obama’s flowery campaign rhetoric about cleaning up the halls of Washington. In 2007 newsmax.com reported on Mr. Obama’s lamenting the fact that “the disproportionate influence of lobbyists and special interest is a problem in Washington (and) in state capitals.” He admitted then that he was “swimming in the same muddy water” and that he knows the waters are muddy. He said “I want to clean it up.” The world is waiting for Mr. Obama, Mr. Babbitt (FAA Administrator), and Mr. LaHood (Transportation Secretary) to exit the bedroom of the airline industry’s sleep inducing lobbyists and go to work on new pilot fatigue regulations. The safety of millions flying the skies continue to see the smoke and to smell the burning flesh. The time has come for you to douse the flames.

Here’s a link to a very sad slide show of crash site photos, courtesy of AP and thehindu.com: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article538554.ece

Another link to a related article from thehindu.com: http://www.thehindu.com/news/article540335.ece

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.

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FAA and NTSB Sound Asleep. Pilot Fatigue Screams the Alarm Again!

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Time to Wake Up!

Despite a promise the Obama administration made in June of 2009 proposing “new limits on how many hours airline pilots can fly” the FAA, the NTSB, and air safety regulators across the globe continue to “sleep in” while the screaming alarms continue to sound. The crash of the Air India flight last week killing 158 people sounded the most recent alarm on possible pilot fatigue and pilot error. The reason I say “possible” is because the investigation for cause of that particular disaster has not been completed. It is doubtful that pilot fatigue will be blamed for the crash. Our air safety regulators choose to continually hit the snooze button and then to throw the alarm out the window. They will no doubt find a simpler cause to the crash. They do not want to confront the airline industry or the airline unions with the stringent new regulations necessary to protect our safety in the air.

Randy Babbitt, FAA administer, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, attended congressional hearings convened to discuss the crash of the Continental Connection Flight 3407 on February 12, 2009 near Buffalo, NY. The crash killed all 49 people on board as well as one person on the ground. The crash was caused by pilot fatigue. Babbitt told Congress and the media that he would propose a new rule addressing pilots’ fatigue related complaints dealing with multiple take-offs and landings (often described as more stressful than long flights) “in the next several months.” Mr. Babbitt, you can wake up now. It’s been well over a year now and we have not seen your new regulations. Babbitt assigned the Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) the task of drafting the new rule changes by September 1, 2009. The committee completed their task on time. An Aviation Today article detailing Mr. Babbitt’s promises described the ARC’s 18 members working together with unions, airline industry representatives, and the FAA. Mr. Babbitt said the group was examining “flight time, duty, and rest limitations; including definitions of rest, duty, fatigue, captain’s authority, and reserve. Scientists who specialize in fatigue made presentations about sleep opportunities, circadian rhythms and potential scheduling.” Wrapping up his speech Mr. Babbitt said, “I can’t say this any more directly than I am right now: We all have to take on additional responsibilities whether we’re legally required to or not. This is about safety, and safety is about saving lives.” The ARC finished up in September 2009, but Mr. Babbitt has been silent ever since.

Our administrators are not the only air safety regulators shunning their alarm clocks’ screaming cries. The European Cockpit Association, a group of pilots unions with over 38,000 members criticized the European Union’s “endangering air safety by failing to act on the recommendations of experts who say cuts in flying hours are needed to curb pilot fatigue. Here in the EU, pilot fatigue is the single biggest “hot potato” safety issue where neither the European Commission nor the European Aviation Safety Agency has shown any leadership to move decisively towards science-based EU rules.” The CBC in Canada has repeatedly reported on Transport Canada’s failures to respond to pilot fatigue issues. More than a dozen crashes linked to pilot fatigue have occurred since Regionnair’s flight 347 crash 10 years ago. Serge Gagne, the pilot of that flight had been working 30 days straight when he crashed in 1999. He was in his 18thhour of duty and was 60 hours over Transport Canada’s monthly limit. The Air Canada Pilots Association, with over 7,000 members, has been asking for changes to Transport Canada’s regulations for years. The regulations haven’t been changed since 1995, and before that, the changes last made were in the 1940s. Our own NTSB has been pressing for new regulations on pilot hours for 19 years. An FAA proposed rule change in 1995 was halted by the air industry. Pilot unions wanted to reduce the duty hours from 16 to 14, but the airline industry said no. Dave Ross, of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing pilot unions at six regional airlines, says, “It’s money. If you can’t fly as long as you do today, then that increases your cost.” Mr. Babbitt, Ray LaHood, the Obama administration, and the airline industries need to ask themselves “How much money is human life worth?”

 The Wall Street Journal recently chimed in on this issue with an article by Andy Pasztor titled “Dispute Over Cost Delays Pilot Rules.”   He attributes the delay of proposed changes to a dispute between the FAA and the White House Office of Management and Budget. He says that budget officials have told the FAA informally that “the proposal’s projected cost to airlines wasn’t justified by the anticipated safety benefits.”

Front row seats at the FAA, formerly representing the airline industry belong to:

  • David Weingart: FAA Chief of Staff. Six years with Northwest Airlines.
  • Hank Krakowski: Chief Operating Officer. 30 years at United Airlines.
  • Ramesh Punwani: Chief Financial Officer. Past CFO and VP of Pan American World Airways
  • David Grizzle: Chief Counsel. 22 years at Continental Airlines. Responsible for agency regulation, safety enforcement and compliance programs, and personal and labor law.

Joining these FAA administrators in affecting current air safety regulations and concerns are the following important lobbyists:

  • Former Senators John Breaux and Trent Lott, along with at least 17 former congressional aides and staffers now with Delta Airlines.
  • Sharon Pinkerton, former FAA Assistant Administrator, now with the airlines main lobbying group: Air Transport Association of America.
  • Linda Daschle, wife of former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, former ATA executive and former FAA deputy administrator and acting administrator in the 90s. Now she is one of Washington’s top lobbyists, paid more than $440,000 a year to lobby for American Airlines.

Regulators, airline executives, congressional representatives, and lobbyists are constantly exchanging places in the merry-go-round for money. While they ride their ever changing horses, air safety regulations will take the back seat near the toilets where we can listen to the constant flushes of empty promises disappearing into the thin air.

 In the meantime, we will continue to read frightening data, such as these, reported by Stephen Stock and the investigation team of CBS4 in Miami:

  • “1011 incidents nationwide since 1978 where pilot fatigue caused a safety concern on board the aircraft or an actual crash. 689 of those incidents happened in the last five years (2005-2009).”
  • “Data from the FAA, NTSB, and NASA shows the problem is growing. There were 189 incidents in 2008 which is up from 117 incidents the year before (2007). And in just the first 9 months of 2009 there were 104 incidents of serious pilot fatigue which is the same number as in entire years in the past.”

Their investigation team even found a brochure, published by the NTSB in 1990, “calling for the FAA to address fatigue immediately.”

 Randy Babbitt’s latest word comes from his statementbefore the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation on Update: The Agency’s Call to Action on Airline Safety and Pilot Training. His complete statement can be found on faa.gov. He laments that, despite his direction for an aggressive timeline for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the end of last year to update the rules from the mid-1990s, it did not happen. He says, “However, with my continued emphasis on this topic, we hope to issue an NPRM this spring. Although this is slightly later than I originally hoped, it is still an extremely expedited schedule and I can assure you the FAA team working on this is committed to meeting the target.”

 FLUSH, FLUSH, FLUSH…

 RING, RING, RING…

 Anyone hear the alarm going off? It’s ringing! Daylight has arrived. No one hears it. Our sleep deprived pilots are on their radios airing their distress signals. The music of the flushing toilet, the carrousel, and the ride for money are drowning out the cries for passenger safety. When will our regulators awaken from their sleep paralysis?

 Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.

Comments and discussion encouraged. Please click on the comments below.

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Pilot Fatigue/Sleep Monitoring Program Largely Ignored by FAA/NTSB

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Another runway miss

With more than 250 air crashes in the last 15 years linked to pilot fatigue or sleep deprivation issues, it seems our own Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) as well as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been asleep in their administrative duties. A March 11, 2010 article  from WBZTV discloses that data “collected from NASA, the FAA, and the NTSB showed that “over the past five years there have been 689 incidents where pilot fatigue caused a safety concern or a crash.” Documents tell of pilots nodding off on approaches and even landing on the wrong runways or taxiways. Pilots are sometimes allowed to work 16 hours in a day, though only eight can be in the cockpit. One retired commercial airline pilot admitted, “I can remember more than one time waking up while we were in route. I had been asleep, looking at the clock, looking at the watch, I had been asleep for 20 minutes, 30 minutes.”

Despite the uptick in reports of fatigue and sleep linked accidents, all we continue to hear from the FAA and the NTSB are empty promises of coming changes. In June of 2009 Randy Babbitt (current FAA Administrator) pledged to change pilot regulations, most of which have been in effect since the 1940s. He told reporter Nancy Cordes in her article for CBS News, “We’re gonna have a tough decision to make and I don’t mind making it.” The only recent change to policy has been his approval for pilots to use antidepressant medications on the job. The most common side effects of antidepressants are drowsiness, dizziness and sleep problems, including insomnia. Mr. Babbitt feels that “culture change” and tolerance for those afflicted with depression are more important than the safety of the millions flying the skies. The FAA’s mission statement is “to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.” The FAA’s vision statement is “to improve the safety and efficiency of flight. We are responsive to our customers and are accountable to the taxpayer and the flying public.” The recent antidepressant policy change as well as the continued delay in amending pilot work hour regulations seriously conflict with the FAA’s stated mission and vision objectives.

While our own FAA and NTSB are asleep at the “stick”, allowing the airlines to continue to overwork their pilots, most of the international safety boards are joining them in the bunkhouse. The CBC in Canada reported in a March 2010 article that “Twenty-eight people have died in a dozen plane crashes across Canada over the past decade in which fatigue was cited as a possible factor.” The Canadian Transportation Safety Board reports note “pilot-fatigue-related issues in six deadly crashes and in an additional six accidents – including the Air France crash in Toronto – where all on board survived.”  Canadian regulations allow pilots to be on duty for 14 hours, or 17 in “unforeseen circumstances.”  Barry Wiszniowski, a pilot and expert with the Air Canada Pilots Association, says this about regulations in Canada, “Ours haven’t been modified since 1995 and prior to that in the ‘40s.”Martin Eley, head of civil aviation at Transport Canada, after initially dismissing pilot fatigue complaints from unions, says, “we’ve certainly moved on…in June, we are tabling the terms of reference for a working group to actually start looking at the current science and looking at where we need to update our regulations.” He noted that “it will likely take a couple of years before the rules change.”  A 2001 study recommended six changes to work regulations. Four of the six were ignored by Transport Canada. The changes were to address duty schedules relative to circadian rhythm effects on sleep.

Drew Dawson, an expert on fatigue in the workplace, makes the frightening statement:

“There’s nothing like a smoking hole in the ground to address attention.”

Pilot Kent Wien, inGadling.com, accused the NTSB of “glossing over fatigue” as the cause of the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, New York last year. They placed total blame on the pilot’s inabilty to properly handle a stall. The crash killed 50 people and the NTSB overlooked the fact that both the pilot and the co-pilot had little sleep in the 24 hours prior to their flight. They placed total blame on inadequate flight simulator training. Robert Sumwalt, one of the NTSB investigators in the case, refused to allow fatigue as a contributing factor saying, “just because the crew was fatigued, that doesn’t mean it was a factor in their performance.” Sleep deprivation studies have proven that performance levels and response speeds for sleep deprived individuals are equivalent or worse than blood alcohol levels of 0.05%. A British Medical Journal study concluded that fatigue does affect performance, finding that, “getting less than 6 hours a night can affect coordination, reaction time, and judgment” and poses “a very serious risk” to drivers.” The NTSB , like the FAA, chooses to ignore the fatigue and sleep deprivation issues jeopardizing the air safety they are charged to protect.

While air transport safety boards and accident investigators overlook fatigue and sleep deprivation as a cause of human error disasters, Air New Zealand has been monitoring and analyzing fatigue, sleep, and fatigue countermeasures since 1998. “Air New Zealand was one of the first airlines in the world to introduce a policy for controlled rest on the flight deck (cockpit napping).” The policy was supported by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand. It allows for a fatigued crew member to take a 45 minute nap after a briefing of the crew members as to time of waking. “No course changes, altitude changes or fuel transfers are permitted during this period.” The napping is only permitted for 2, 3, and 4=person crews. The fatigue management program has full support of airline management and union groups. Fatigue report forms from pilots detailing excess fatigue, possible causes and remedies are passed to Flight Operations management for possible action or comment and are then analyzed by a Flight Crew Fatigue Study Group (FCFSG) monthly. The group looks for patterns and problems with particular duties and routes.

Pilots participating in studies wear a “Sleepwatch” on the wrist. The sleepwatch measures wrist activity. It provides information on “timing and quality of sleep.”  Three questionnaires are utilized in-flight. Fatigue Visual Analogue Scales rate how pilots feel. A Profile of Mood States asks pilots to score certain words based on their moods. The Stanford Sleepiness Scale scores word pictures of the individual’s fatigue feelings. The questionnaires are short and only require a few minutes of their time. The pilots then take a quick test called the Psychomotor Vigilance Task in which they have to extinguish a randomly flashing light in a small box by pushing a button using his or her thumb. The notebook sized black box measures and records performance and alertness rankings. More importantly it measures “lapses” which took more than 500 milliseconds to accomplish. The FCFSG has taken the data from these studies and has modified “flight and duty time limitations that are considered safe and acceptable on the basis of reliable data.” The group hopes to go pro-active in the future to advise tours of duty before they are introduced instead of modifying them after studies and reports have been completed.  The FCFSG has decided to forgo the marketing of their system and they have opened it to the public domain “for the betterment of flight safety in the International Aviation Community.”

On March 22, 2010 the United States Senate unanimously passed the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (S.1451) by a margin of 93-0. Chairman Rockefeller made airline safety a “top priority in the bill.” It requires the FAA to “revise the flight and duty time regulations for commercial air carrier pilots and issue the final rule within one year to address pilot fatigue. The existing FAA guidelines on flight time and duty limitations were established in the 1940s without significant modification.” Chairman Rockefeller in a press release of December 2009 said, “Addressing pilot fatigue is an issue for which it has taken far too long to achieve meaningful reform. The travelling public deserves a better effort to make certain any plane on which they fly has an alert and well rested flight crew.”

Fatigue, sleep deprivation, and their effects on our safety in the air have been sufficiently documented. It is time for the FAA, the NTSB, and their partnered agencies across the globe to wake up and to follow the lead of New Zealand Air. Millions of lives are at stake. They should not need any more “smoking holes in the ground” to wake up from the sleep paralysis that’s been plaguing them for years.

 Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.

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Tired, Sleepless, And Antidepressant Medicated Pilots Spell Human Error Disasters?

Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Polish air crash scene photo from the BBC

Today’s air disaster killing the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, and all 96 people on board adds another crash to the list of recent air disasters attributed to pilot error or fatigue. More details can be found in the media reports, but it calls attention to the recent articles I have published, one in an earlier post and this one, reprinted from Articlesbase.com:

Monday marked the first day of the newly revised FAA policy allowing pilots who use antidepressant medications to legally fly the skies. Our sleepless and tired pilots are constantly stressed by their long hours and the constant interruptions of their sleep cycles due to time zone changes. Some of those pilots will now add the effects of antidepressant medications to the list of factors that can affect their abilities to react to unexpected challenges in flight. Will the new policy spell an increase in the number of human error caused disasters?

Greg Griffin in an article in the Denver Post asserts, “Human error factors were cited as the primary problem in 74 commercial aviation safety incidents reported at Denver International Airport since 2005, according to a NASA database of voluntary, anonymous reports from pilots and others.” A joint report from the FAA and the aviation industry concluded that, “loss of control accidents – in which the crew was unable to recover from an unexpected event such as engine failure or a stall – accounted for 42 percent of commercial aviation fatalities worldwide from 1999 through 2008, more than any other cause.” Human factors such as sleep deprivation, mental distractions, scheduling, and training are all contributing factors. The United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority reported last year that “flight crews were the primary cause of two-thirds of fatal commercial and business plane crashes worldwide from 1997 through 2006.” Our own FAA found in a 2006 study that “from 1990 to 2002, 45 percent of major airline accidents in the United States and 75 percent of commuter-carrier crashes were associated with human error.”

Addendum to published article –

     A report in  February 2000 by the Department of Transportation/FAA studied the multiple facets of the literature’s assertions that “between 70-80% of airline accidents can be attributed, at least in part, to human error.”

 

The February 2009 crash of Colgan Air’s Flight 3407 in Buffalo NY, killing 50 people, was attributed to fatigue, training, and pay. The NTSB attributed most of the blame to the lack of proper simulator training. The lack of proper simulator training also was a factor in the 2001 crash of an American Airlines A300-600 that killed 265 people.

An October 2009 Delta Airlines plane with 182 passengers landed safely on a taxiway at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. The FAA is still investigating this case where fatigue from a ten hour flight and the distraction of a medical emergency on board could have caused the serious error.

The Northwest Airlines A320 overshot runway incident in October 2009 at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport has been attributed to distraction, but sleeping on board was also suggested. The pilot and copilot claimed they were busy on their laptops, but air traffic controllers were not able to contact the plane for an hour and eighteen minutes. The plane had been at risk of being shot down by fighter planes dispatched in a concern over a possible high jacking.

With all of these stats supporting the conclusion that most airline disasters are caused by human error, it seems incomprehensible that the FAA would add the side effects of antidepressants to the already growing problems of fatigue, stress, and sleep deprivation. The dangerous side effects of antidepressant prescriptions are well documented. The dangers disclosed on the labels of Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, and Lexapro are enough to stoke fears in the most confident air travelers. Randy Babbitt, FAA Administrator, responsible for the change reversing policy in effect for more than 70 years, chooses “culture change” and a new, more tolerant view of those affected by depression over and above the public safety he is charged to protect. How many lost lives in future disasters will be required before we return to time tested policy?   

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/tired-sleepless-and-antidepressant-medicated-pilots-spell-human-error-disasters-2114011.html

“How many lost lives in future disasters will be required before we return to time tested policy?”

Here’s a shocking YouTube video compilation on the side effects of antidepressants: CLICK HERE . And the FAA says these drugs are safe for our pilots to use on the job???

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.

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Sleepless and Tired Pilots Given Okay for Antidepressants on the Job!

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Northwest Crash

In an unbelievable reversal of policies, the FAA is now allowing the already sleepless and tired pilots to take antidepressants on the job. The new policy takes effect on Monday, April 5th. The announcement in CBS News from the Associated Press today, April 2nd, had to have been delayed a day to avoid the April Fools tradition that would have had no one believing it! Our stress filled world has been plagued by many catastrophic tragedies that have been linked to sleep deprivation. Now, we can look forward to pilots, suffering from “mild to moderate depression,” under the influence of prescription medications like Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, and their generic equivalents.

The FAA officials said that “the old rule was based on outdated versions of antidepressants that could cause drowsiness and other side effects.” The FAA Administrator, Randy Babbitt, now considers the side effects much less of a risk than they once were. The new policy is meant to encourage the pilots to report their use instead of keeping their use a secret. The threat of losing their licenses, until now, has kept the pilots from the disclosure. Babbitt says, “We need to be able to change the culture and remove the stigma associated with depression. Pilots should be able to get the medical treatment they need so they can safely perform their duties.” The stipulation of the new policy is that they have to have been treated successfully “for a year without side effects that could pose a safety hazard in the cockpit.”

The critical question here is how these pilots can be judged to be free of those side effects. All four of these drugs, and their generic equivalents, have the same dangerous side effects listed in all of their disclosures as well as on drugs.com:

  • Drowsiness, dizziness, tired feeling
  • Mild nausea, stomach pain
  • Fast or uneven heartbeats
  • Overactive reflexes, hostile, aggressive impulses
  • Mood changes
  • Concentration problems, confusion, hallucinations
  • Insomnia
  • Suicidal thoughts

 

All of these are also extremely dangerous when combined with alcohol, blood thinners, and secondary antidepressants.

 Who is going to determine whether these side effects have ever been experienced by the pilots? Who is to say that if they have not been experienced before they will not happen in the future? Our psychiatrists and our psychologists have done a great job of keeping the criminals off our streets and the pedophiles away from our children, haven’t they? Many reports are written to affect the viewpoint desired by the responsible party, similar to our legal system today. Every major criminal trial today is muddled by opposing proof from differing psychiatrists and psychologists. Who determines the accuracy? Here there will be no judge and no jury. Mr. Babbitt and his competent staff at the FAA will be their judges. And we will become the victims?

 How many of our lives will now be endangered because the FAA and Mr. Babbitt feel that our need to “change the culture” is more important than the safety of millions of Americans flying the skies. Sleep deprived pilots have been a problem in the past and they will continue to be a problem due to their grueling schedules. Now we can look forward to our pilots being sleep deprived and “under the influence.” How many new disasters and lost lives will be required before this “culture changing” and naive policy is replaced by the “common sense” approach of the past?   

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki

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