The element of fatigue, which is considered threat to aviation safety, and what causes fatigue and how it could be avoided was highlighted at a one-day seminar on 'Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL)/Fatigue', organised by Pakistan Air Line Pilots Association (Palpa) at a hotel here on Wednesday.
Ahmed Saeed, Chairman, Pakistan International Airlines, attended the afternoon session.
The seminar was followed by a workshop on present state of airlines. Prominent among the participants were Captain Carlos Limon, Deputy President, International Airline Pilots Association ( IFALPA), Carole Couchman, Regional Officer, IFALPA, Captain Rick Brennan, Wing Commander Tanzeem A Khan, President, PAF Safety Board, First Officer Mohsin Khan, PIA Corporate Safety, Captain Naqvi who will take over as President, Palpa, from January 24, and others.
Although the seminar was to be inaugurated by Air Marshal Pervaiz A Nawaz, Director-General, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), he sent his regrets, saying that the Ministry of Defence has asked him not to participate in the seminar proceedings.
In his place, Air Marshal (Retd) Azim Daudpota, a former chairman of PIA, was requested to inaugurate the seminar which he did willingly.
The participants of the seminar were unhappy over the refusal of CAA Director-General to inaugurate the seminar.
They said it was unbelievable that the head of the regulatory body, whose prime concern is safety in aviation, had kept himself away from an important gathering which could have made him richer in experience and could have added to his knowledge.
Welcoming the participants, Palpa President Captain N A Bucha emphasised the importance of flight duty time and fatigue, "because it deals directly with the human factor".
The purpose of the seminar is to bring to the attention of all concerned people in the aviation industry the importance this subject--FDTL--carries and the repercussions, if ignored, he said.
Captain Carlos Limon spoke on 'Approach and Landing Accident Reduction' (ALAR). He said the manufacturers, regulatory bodies and the operators look towards pilots for feedback to improve aircraft design and flight procedures. "By doing so they ensure and enhance flight safety for the crew and travelling public by preventing accidents in this critical phase of flight."
Captain Rick Brennan gave a detailed view of the implications of flight time limitations.
Presenting examples and charts, he said that fatigue can be a contributory factor in aircraft accidents. "Without adequate 'Flight Time Limitations', such occurrences are likely to increase. In our experience, fatiguing duties are often the result of poor rostering, and good rostering can both reduce fatigue and improve productivity."
He said that it is the IFALPA view that FTL limitations in many parts of the world are not offering either flight crew or their passengers the protection that they deserve and, unfortunately, the situation could be about to get worse. "Since consensus on FTL is unlikely between the industry stakeholders, science is, and should be, the way forward," Captain Brennan concluded.
Ms Carole Couchman explained to the audience the concept of security.
Captain Saleem Akhtar from Palpa presented an overview of Pakistan's position on 'Air Safety and Flight Duty Limitations' (FDTL). He said: "In a study conducted by University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology on stress level in various professions, it was found that pilots have a stress level of 7.5 on a scale of 0-10, which makes it the third most stressful profession on the list."
Wing Commander Tanzeem in his presentation gave the following as causes of fatigue : Excess time on task (should not be more than 12 hours, inclusive of non-flying time), long time since awake, sleep debt accumulation, and circadian disruption - multiple time zone operation effects and shift time operations. Circadian rhythm is the biological clock of the body and measured in time as zeitgebers. It is based on day/night time, eating, working and routine activities.
How to recover? He suggested self-training and awareness. Do not let yourself drift into sleep-debt due to work. Know your limits of tolerance. Sleep-debt is recovered through 'sleep alone'. Remember, high, motivation level, liking for the task and companionships can depress the feeling and onset of fatigue signs, but for a short while, he said.
The seminar was attended by a large number of professionals from aviation industry.
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