Significance of time awake for predicting pilots' fatigue on short‐haul flights: implications for flight duty time regulations

Vejvoda, M.; Elmenhorst, Eva‐Maria; Pennig, S.; Plath, G.; Maaß, H.; Tritschler, K.; Basner, Mathias; Aeschbach, Daniel

doi:10.1111/jsr.12186

Cited by 37 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…The relevance of duty start time for limiting duty duration is corroborated by established fatigue science (Roach et al, 2012;Vejvoda et al, 2014). Endogenous circadian rhythmicity produces daytime and nighttime peaks and troughs in subjective alertness and cognitive performance (Kerkhof and Van Dongen, 1996;Monk et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Fatiguing effect of multiple take-offs and landings in regional airline operations

Honn

Satterfield

McCauley

et al. 2016

Accident Analysis & Prevention

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Fatigue is a risk factor for flight performance and safety in commercial aviation. In US commercial aviation, to help to curb fatigue, the maximum duration of flight duty periods is regulated based on the scheduled start time and the number of flight segments to be flown. There is scientific support for regulating maximum duty duration based on scheduled start time; fatigue is well established to be modulated by circadian rhythms. However, it has not been established scientifically whether the number of flight segments, per se, affects fatigue. To address this science gap, we conducted a randomized, counterbalanced, cross-over study with 24 active-duty regional airline pilots. Objective and subjective fatigue was compared between a 9-hour duty day with multiple take-offs and landings versus a duty day of equal duration with a single take-off and landing. To standardize experimental conditions and isolate the fatiguing effect of the number of segments flown, the entire duty schedules were carried out in a high-fidelity, moving-base, full-flight, regional jet flight simulator. Steps were taken to maintain operational realism, including simulated airplane inspections and acceptance checks, use of realistic dispatch releases and airport charts, real-world air traffic control interactions, etc. During each of the two duty days, 10 fatigue test bouts were administered, which included a 10-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) assessment of objective fatigue and Samn-Perelli (SP) and Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) assessments of subjective sleepiness/fatigue. Results showed a greater build-up of objective and subjective fatigue in the multi-segment duty day than in the single-segment duty day. With duty start time and duration and other variables that could impact fatigue levels held constant, the greater build-up of fatigue in the multi-segment duty day was attributable specifically to the difference in the number of flight segments flown. Compared to findings in previously published laboratory studies of simulated night shifts and nighttime sleep deprivation, the magnitude of the fatiguing effect of the multiple take-offs and landings was modest. Ratings of flight performance were not significantly reduced for the simulated multi-segment duty day. The US duty and flight time regulations for commercial aviation shorten the maximum duty duration in multi-segment operations by up to 25% depending on the duty start time. The present results represent an important first step in understanding fatigue in multi-segment operations, and provide support for the number of flight segments as a relevant factor in regulating maximum duty duration. Nonetheless, based on our fatigue results, a more moderate reduction in maximum duty duration as a function of the number of flight segments might be considered. However, further research is needed to include investigation of flight safety, and to extend our findings to nighttime operations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Fatiguing effect of multiple take-offs and landings in regional airline operations

Honn

Satterfield

McCauley

et al. 2016

Accident Analysis & Prevention

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“…In our study participants first completed a quick assessment of perceived cognitive fatigue and then completed a simple visual oddball task on an Apple iPad while EEG data was recorded from a Muse EEG headband. Given that self-reported measured of cognitive have fatigue have been found to be unreliable (e.g., Aidman et al, 2015), we also recorded the amount of hours that each participant had been awake as this also has been shown to be a reliable proxy for cognitive fatigue (Buysse et al, 2003;Dorrian et al, 2011;Vejvoda et al, 2014). As an important experimental constraint to emphasize that EEG assessments can be done quickly and almost anywhere, we ensured that testing sessions took place in under 10 min and we collected data at a wide range of venues (in a shopping mall, in cafeterias, in the work place, and at our university).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Muse: Rapid Mobile Assessment of Brain Performance

et al. 2021

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The advent of mobile electroencephalography (mEEG) has created a means for large scale collection of neural data thus affording a deeper insight into cognitive phenomena such as cognitive fatigue. Cognitive fatigue – a neural state that is associated with an increased incidence of errorful performance – is responsible for accidents on a daily basis which at times can cost human lives. To gain better insight into the neural signature of cognitive fatigue in the present study we used mEEG to examine the relationship between perceived cognitive fatigue and human-event related brain potentials (ERPs) and electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations in a sample of 1,000 people. As a secondary goal, we wanted to further demonstrate the capability of mEEG to accurately measure ERP and EEG data. To accomplish these goals, participants performed a standard visual oddball task on an Apple iPad while EEG data were recorded from a Muse EEG headband. Counter to traditional EEG studies, experimental setup and data collection was completed in less than seven minutes on average. An analysis of our EEG data revealed robust N200 and P300 ERP components and neural oscillations in the delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands. In line with previous findings we observed correlations between ERP components and EEG power and perceived cognitive fatigue. Further, we demonstrate here that a linear combination of ERP and EEG features is a significantly better predictor of perceived cognitive fatigue than any ERP or EEG feature on its own. In sum, our results provide validation of mEEG as a viable tool for research and provide further insight into the impact of cognitive fatigue on the human brain.

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“…Short-haul airline pilots face high workload and fatigue due to flying multiple flights in a single day and reduced sleep due to early start times and long duty days (Flynn-Evans et al 2018;Honn et al 2016;Vejvoda et al 2014). Most duty and rest regulations address the maximum amount of duty time on a given day, the cumulative time for a duty period and a minimum acceptable duration of rest periods between duty periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between workload, performance and fatigue in a short-haul airline

Arsintescu

Chachad

Gregory

et al. 2020

Chronobiology International

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The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between pilot workload, performance, subjective fatigue, sleep duration, number of sectors and flight duration during short-haul operations. Ninety pilots completed a NASA Task Load Index, Psychomotor Vigilance Task and a Samn-Perelli fatigue scale on top-of-descent of each flight and wore an activity monitor throughout the study. Weak, but significant, correlations were revealed between workload and all factors. Subjective fatigue, number of sectors and lapses were significant predictors of workload. Pilots reported higher workload when fatigue increased, the number of sectors were higher, and objective performance was worse.

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Significance of time awake for predicting pilots' fatigue on short‐haul flights: implications for flight duty time regulations

Cited by 37 publications

References 7 publications

Fatiguing effect of multiple take-offs and landings in regional airline operations

Fatiguing effect of multiple take-offs and landings in regional airline operations

Using Muse: Rapid Mobile Assessment of Brain Performance

The relationship between workload, performance and fatigue in a short-haul airline

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