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Thread: Japanese pilot dozes off twice during 1h flight

  1. #1
    Twirling dragon Maciamo's Avatar
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    Exclamation Japanese pilot dozes off twice during 1h flight

    BBC News : Japanese pilot dozes off


    A Japanese pilot dozed off twice at the controls during an hour-long internal flight last month, All Nippon Airways (ANA) has admitted.
    The airline issued an apology on Friday after the 50-year-old captain was revealed to have napped while flying 184 passengers and crew on auto-pilot.

    The pilot has been suspended and is currently undergoing medical tests.
    Last February, a bullet train driver with 800 passengers on board travelled about 26km at almost 300 kilometres (186 miles) an hour while sleeping soundly.

    He was discovered to be suffering from a syndrome which causes sufferers to fall asleep suddenly during the daytime.
    This is to put in relation with the blatant incompetence of Japanese doctors and taxi drivers, and shall I also mentioned corrupted politicians without a single ideal, school teachers that cannot teach something that is not in the book and even Japanese English teachers that cannot speak English...

    Take this with a grain of salt, but there is nevertheless an underlying problem in these professions. Erring is human, but I doubt that Japanese should be more human than Westerners.

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    Kongming jeisan's Avatar
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    wasnt there another bullet train driver that ended up nearly passing a station because he was sleeping too? something like only the last car or two made the platform. or was that the same guy?
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    Dog Youkai playaa's Avatar
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    HAHA Talk about a scare! If the pilot fell asleep on me I believe I would have to throw him out! Let him wake up to the 1500ft he has left to fall.
    "Kanpeki to chau, jinsei no shuushi
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    me gots isshooz...
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    my goodness...and we thought our drunken pilots were really bad- i mean, they are, but apparantly japan has some issues with that stuff too...teachers who can't teach english? isn't that why they set up the JET program?

  5. #5
    Twirling dragon Maciamo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ashuri2
    teachers who can't teach english? isn't that why they set up the JET program?
    Yes, partly. And also why Japanese have to take private lessons with native speakers after graduating.

  6. #6
    Hi Keiichi's Avatar
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    It's nice to know that the pilots are getting some good rest to give us a good flight.
    K1

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    i guess you could also say our pilots were getting some much neede r & r while they were drinking so that they could handle the plane better...

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    But really it was only an hour long flight couldn't he stay awake... and where was the co-pilot?

  9. #9
    Twirling dragon Maciamo's Avatar
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    Another article said that he slept for 20 minutes.

    Anyway, now that I think about it, there must have been at least one co-pilot, so that doesn't really matter...

  10. #10
    Dog Youkai playaa's Avatar
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    HE must have went out the night before and got some drinks or was drinking. But it does not take 2 pilots to fly, while in the air. So no MAJOR deal but still not safe.

  11. #11
    Hi Keiichi's Avatar
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    Well if two pilots are needed, I'm sure the other one can be woken up when necessary. But still. *lol*

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    Now it's me yimija's Avatar
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    Heart sleepy pilots and train conductors

    Quote Originally Posted by Maciamo
    Another article said that he slept for 20 minutes.

    Anyway, now that I think about it, there must have been at least one co-pilot, so that doesn't really matter...
    Frightning, however !!! 2 "responsable" pilots assleep at the same time ?

    That seems to be quiet impossible *, since the automatic pilot in a plane will ask a "referal question" every 10 minutes and that function CANNOT BE TURNED OFF. In some airlines the referal question comes even more often, every 5, 7, 8, 9 minutes. (referal question consists in a specific task which varies every time and are numerous). (*unless plane is "so old" that the system has not been implemented, but I believe that it would not be allowed to fly as per IATA rulings)

    The referal system is also known in trains and I'm extremely surprised to hear that it happened. In the TGV in France (Bullet trains) the driver (who can be sick or even die) has to do a specific task every "X" minute(s). If he does'nt respond to it immediately (delay is +/- 10 seconds) the train will immediately send out an electronic message to the control room, where responsable living persons will take the situation under close attention and simultaneously, the train will automatically slow down and stop if nothing else happens.

    If I'm wrong, then I'll keep on walking... until some car driver, asleep himself too, will run over me...
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  13. #13
    Hi Keiichi's Avatar
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    That sounds like an interesting fail-safe system. I'm just wondering, what kind of specific tasks, for example, if you know?

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    You SPAM/We BAN !
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    Typical Pilot Tasks !!

    1. Grab stewardess's butt !
    2. Grab stew's breast !
    3. Pull stew into lap for kiss !
    4. Send stew for coffee !
    5. Read latest issue of Playboy !!
    6. Play Gin Rummy with co-pilot !
    7. Did out secret flask for a little nip !
    8. Set off HiJack alarm to see if anyone's awake down there !
    9. Report UFO sighting to break up boredom !
    10. Ask passengers if they see the little man out on the wing tearing off the panel.(As in old Twilight Zone)!


    Frank

    TAKE WHAT I SAY WITH A GRAIN OF SUGAR !!
    I USED TO BE FUNNY, BUT MY WIFE HAD ME NEUTERED!

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    Where I'm Supposed to Be kirei_na_me's Avatar
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    That was a good Twilight Zone! Nightmare at 20,000 Feet!
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    me gots isshooz...
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    hmmm...i'd never doze off and kill people at the wheel...too much paperwork!

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    You SPAM/We BAN !
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    Maybe We Should Ask...

    Quote Originally Posted by Keiichi
    That sounds like an interesting fail-safe system. I'm just wondering, what kind of specific tasks, for example, if you know?
    BUNTARO, he's an airline pilot !!

    Frank


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    Now it's me yimija's Avatar
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    Heart haaaaa. men !!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Frank D. White
    1. Grab stewardess's butt !
    2. Grab stew's breast !
    3. Pull stew into lap for kiss !

    Frank

    Come on Frank, we know this happend, but they were talking about pilots falling asleep... so where were the hostesses ?? Are you reading playboy FranK ? Naughty !!! LOL
    the "tasks" I'm talking about, for instance in trains will depend on the system, some are situated onthe weel and the man has to press a special control ring, or there will be a green red, or orange light lighting up and a buzzer and he will have to press a button to stop the noise.
    This last system is also installaed in planes, but tasks are more numerous such as checking the course and approving it, checking numerous differents flying or technical parameters, (If there is a pro pilot in the forum, it would be nice to have precisions, my flying capacities are limited to small birds...

  19. #19
    Hi Keiichi's Avatar
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    I'm sure those tasks will get so repetitive with a some kind of pattern that the pilots can do them in their sleep.

  20. #20
    Now it's me yimija's Avatar
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    Heart repetition : non

    Quote Originally Posted by Keiichi
    I'm sure those tasks will get so repetitive with a some kind of pattern that the pilots can do them in their sleep.
    No way and don't worry, the ones that build planes know better than that. they wouldn't do something like that, nor for trains either.

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    Time to Jump in.

    2 of my current students are pilots. One for ANK(local div of ANA) and the other for JAS(owned by JAL). They both tell me that they're only there to check that the instruments are working during flight. Sometimes, they let the plane land itself. One of them likes to sleep and he lets his co-pilot take care of things. The other told me about a time when he told the passengers about a turbulance that never came so he decided to shake the plane up himself.

    shoganai ne

  23. #23
    ‰^“®•s‘« Buntaro's Avatar
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    A "referal question" system to wake up pilots?

    ~~~

    I am an airline pilot (as Frank noted with his scary attention to detail), and I would like to respond:

    Sorry, but I have never heard of such a system. Warning horns will go off, but only when an emergency is already in progress. Pilots who rely on an autopilot to wake them up are in for a rude surprise.

    Want to hear something surprising? Pilots ROUTINELY sleep on long trans-oceanic flights. Some people say that they are advised to do so. Can you imagine trying to stay aware and sharp through 12 hours of sheer boredom at 30,000 feet?

    Also, 747's have BUNKS on board for the flight crew! That is always a great place to catch a few winks.

    Every airline I know of has a policy when ONE pilot must be awake, and sitting at the controls in flight. The other can doze off, many do, and I think that this is a fine system. However, when BOTH pilots doze off, they are looking for trouble.
    Tada yori, takai mono wa nai.
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  24. #24
    Home...For now... Arc Light's Avatar
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    Actually, that kind of thing happens pretty regularly here...just never hear about it until a plane finds the ground before the runway.

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    The captain might be out, but there's always the pilot next to him.

    Though one might on why he fell asleep in the first place.

    But if he fall asleep due to exhaustion because his work, I hope that he would just get off with a light disclipinary action. Flying is quite exhausting not due physical actions, but due to the constant attention.

    Though if he regulary fall asleep in his work, maybe he should decided a change in carrer?

    Of course, there are differences between taking a nap and falling asleep. Pilots like to take a nap (they need to, especially in long flights), but they're not supposed to fall asleep.


    As for a dead man switch feature in a 747.

    Older aircrafts (think propellers) might have this kind of feature, but not in a 747.

    Though with all of the automation these days, it would be interesting incase all the pilots are all incapacitated and there's no one flying the craft, the computer will bring down the craft on the nearest runway, unless of course the computer decided that the craft should land on a building. Who ever hear a computer landing a Boeing 767 on a building?



    As for long non-stop flights.

    I think that they have at least two crew shifts for long non-stop flights. So there might be around three to four pilots (2 Captains and 2 Pilots) onboard in a long flight.

    In long multiple stops flight on the other hand, the shift change was done while the aircraft is on the ground.

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