October 24, 2009 in Business

FAA aware of pilot fatigue

WSU sleep specialist part of consultation

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Regardless of whether two Northwest Airlines pilots fell asleep during a domestic flight this week, a Spokane sleep researcher said the incident confirms what aviation experts know. Airline pilots, like train engineers and truck drivers, need to be monitored better for fatigue and affected performance, said Gregory Belenky, director of WSU Spokane’s Sleep and Performance Research Center.

The pilot and co-pilot of the four-hour flight from San Diego to Minneapolis told officials they “lost situational awareness” during the last leg of the flight, causing a 78-minute period of no radio contact.

Carrying 144 passengers, the airplane flew 150 miles past …

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