Japanese pilot dozes off twice during 1h flight

[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.

[yimija]

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.

[名無し]

ANA Says Captain Who Dozed during Flight Had Sleep Disorder

[Blue 3]

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.

[Arc Light]

Actually, that kind of thing happens pretty regularly here...just never hear about it until a plane finds the ground before the runway.

[digicross]

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.