Premium on Safety - Issue 40, 2021 - 2

With a little positive energy, it can be
especially easy when you are actually
in the aircraft to galvanize a spirited
conversation about an onboard system,
hash out opinions on handling a
" what if " contingency, get someone
sharing about a recent non-standard
flight situation they faced, or do a
review of aviation chart symbology. I
was privileged to fly with others who
nudged these kinds of things into
happening and tolerated me doing
it. Done with the right touch, the joy
of flying stays intact while interest
among the crew gets piqued. You'll
find follow-ups happening, sometimes
days later, after someone was moved
to chase down an elusive answer deep
in a flight publication to a question left
pending from an airborne discussion.
Anyone can be a positive influencer of
" cruise learning " (not just the captain)
and it will make you and your team
better. It's also absolutely free. It
just takes a little purposeful intent to
put some of that " uptime " to great
use and ask a question that gets a
BY SCOTT M. SPANGLER
dialogue rolling.
Stay well, fly smart and fly safe.

Fatigue can be exacerbated by stress and anxiety, heightened due to career
uncertainty and rapid industry changes. And concerns about job security may
fuel pilots' perception that they should accept more extended workdays to
keep their jobs.
In an attempt to pivot to COVID-19's " new normal, " organizations could also be
rapidly changing the way they do business, forcing them to take on new types of
flying to remain profitable. This means it may be more important than ever for a
flight department to adopt current fatigue risk management practices.
FATIGUE RISK MANAGEMENT 101
The aviation industry has taken a predominantly regulatory approach to fatigue
management by limiting the number of hours that flight crews can work and
specifying the minimum amount of rest required between flight duty periods.
But legal does not necessarily mean safe. And while it may be presumed that " rest "
opportunities are spent obtaining quality sleep in suitable accommodations, that may
not necessarily be the case. Unlike the comprehensive and stringent FAR Part 117
rules used in the U.S. airline world, business aviation pilots operate under a less strict
set of rules.
For instance, according to FAR 135.267, a minimum of 10 hours of rest is typically
required between flight duty periods. However, of those 10 hours of rest, the
regulations don't specify how many of those hours should be dedicated to sleep.
The rules also don't define what kinds of accommodations would be acceptable to
facilitate this rest.
Long duty days with long " sits " between flights can also be fatiguing. MedEvac
crews can spend hours sitting in an airport crew room between flights, creating the
perception that they are obtaining quality rest. But long periods of being sedentary
do not necessarily equate to rest. And depending on the facilities, this down time
may not be free from distractions or disturbances either.
As a result of these gray areas in the regulation, flight crews may struggle to obtain
adequate sleep while away from home.

Paul Ratté
Director of Aviation Safety
Programs, USAIG

FILLING IN THE GAPS
This is where having a robust Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) comes into
play. Fatigue risk management helps " fill in the gaps " in the regulations while also
offering practical guidelines tailored to the types of flying that a flight department
typically performs.
The purpose of FRMS is to harmonize regulatory flight and duty limitations with the
application of human factors and sleep science to better manage fatigue-related
errors and improve crew alertness. In other words, fatigue risk management is about
going beyond what is merely legal and embracing a more holistic and data-driven
approach to reduce fatigue.
Although an FRMS is not required under FAR parts 91 and 135 operations, voluntarily
adopting fatigue risk management practices can prove beneficial.
One way that FRMS helps reduce fatigue-related errors is to set a standard for
sleeping accommodations. Frontline employees can become part of the decisionmaking process by assisting in building less grueling schedules and offering
recommendations for suitable hotels and other places to sleep. Furthermore, as part
of an organization's commitment to cultivate a " just culture, " frontline employees
should be trained to recognize fatigue in themselves and others, and also feel
empowered to call-in fatigued without fear of punishment.

http://www.usaig.com http://www.usaig.com https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute

Premium on Safety - Issue 40, 2021

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