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>and uh-oh what the fuck is going on So presumably you would have an alarm that wakes up the pilot if this happens. Here's the problem: humans wake up pretty s

>and uh-oh what the fuck is going on So presumably you would have an alarm that wakes up the pilot if this happens. Here's the problem: humans wake up pretty slowly. For 10 minutes or so after you wake up, you might as well be drunk as far as your reaction time and judgment are concerned. I don't know if this has been tested in high stress situations, and I would guess that the "warm up time" is faster if your adrenaline is pumping, but it's still going to be a lot worse than having already been awake.

brianmcconnell 13y ago
There are two pilots. So assume they sleep in shifts. The point is that the several hours en route are a good time for the pilots to rest. Takeoff and landing are the riskiest phases of flight. I'm mainly concerned that the pilots are on top of their game then.
JshWright 13y ago
I wake up with a hit of adrenaline a couple times a week (thanks to Plectron tones going off, indicating an emergency call of some nature). I'd say that 'might as well be drunk' period lasts around 30 seconds for me (the process of getting dressed is generally just a foggy blur...). By the time I'm moving toward the truck, I'm more or less firing on all cylinders. 30 seconds is still an awfully long time in a plane when stuff is going sideways...
Malician 13y ago
This is true, but the chance of an incident occurring during neither takeoff or landing, when both pilots happen to be asleep at the same time is fairly low. On the other hand, sleep deprivation (which as the article mentions, can be far worse than being legally drunk) is common and pilots probably often perform the most difficult parts of the flight while under its effects. I would think the risks of pilots sleeping (and, very rarely, getting caught unprepared for an emergency) would be minimal compared to the risks of pilots being regularly incapacitated by fatigue during the most difficult parts of the flight.

brianmcconnell 13y ago

There are two pilots. So assume they sleep in shifts. The point is that the several hours en route are a good time for the pilots to rest. Takeoff and landing are the riskiest phases of flight. I'm mainly concerned that the pilots are on top of their game then.

JshWright 13y ago

I wake up with a hit of adrenaline a couple times a week (thanks to Plectron tones going off, indicating an emergency call of some nature). I'd say that 'might as well be drunk' period lasts around 30 seconds for me (the process of getting dressed is generally just a foggy blur...). By the time I'm moving toward the truck, I'm more or less firing on all cylinders. 30 seconds is still an awfully long time in a plane when stuff is going sideways...

Malician 13y ago

This is true, but the chance of an incident occurring during neither takeoff or landing, when both pilots happen to be asleep at the same time is fairly low. On the other hand, sleep deprivation (which as the article mentions, can be far worse than being legally drunk) is common and pilots probably often perform the most difficult parts of the flight while under its effects. I would think the risks of pilots sleeping (and, very rarely, getting caught unprepared for an emergency) would be minimal compared to the risks of pilots being regularly incapacitated by fatigue during the most difficult parts of the flight.