SAFETY SITREP Safety-Related Information and Resources from the Vertical Aviation Safety Team DON’T BE A ZOMBIE MANAGE FATIGUE LIKE A PROFESSIONAL
On a pleasant morning in March 1991, I was transiting back to my Intercoastal City, Louisiana, base to pick up some newspapers for my offshore energy crew. I was alone in my mighty Bell 206B JetRanger and did not realize just how tired I was. You know that feeling you sometimes get in a long, not- so-interesting lecture, when you catch your head bobbing a bit. That’s what I had. It just took one head tilt, then I let go of the cyclic. Predictably, it fell forward as I entered a brief but alarmingly steep dive.
Startled awake, I resumed control of the aircraft, breathed a sigh of relief, and looked for a place to land. I found one right away – a remote and thankfully unoccupied platform where I landed, shut down, and took a moment to ponder my life choices. After a moment’s self-reflection and a few push-ups and jumping jacks, I restored my alertness and confidence to continue safely. So I strapped back in, cranked up, and returned to base without further incident.
A bit of friendly fate helped me learn a valuable lesson. I never came close to nodding off again, but it got me thinking, how often do many of us continue to shrug off insidious fatigue and press on despite the very real and unforgivable consequences that can result? How many of us are carrying a massive load of sleep debt that is slowly turning us into zombies?
Fatigue crushes our aeronautical decision- making skills. It even erodes our ability to recognize when we are too tired and need to put down our wrench or postpone that last flight of the day. It’s like a buzzed friend who insists that you to give them back their car key, claiming that they always drive better after a few drinks. We cannot self-police our fatigue limits once we approach the proverbial fatigue wall.
That’s why we must take fatigue seriously and establish — and follow — basic principles for managing fatigue. For many operators, this is not an option.
So, what basic fatigue risk management steps should an operator take if they’re not
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already adhering to an existing regulatory requirement? There is an endless supply of resources to help. I’ll highlight one.
The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) has embarked on a path to help stamp out fatigue in aviation. The team identified fatigue as a contributing factor in several recent fatal helicopter accidents and formed a Helicopter Safety Enhancement (H-SE) project team comprised of over 20 volunteers. Several resources are scheduled for development and delivery in the coming year, including a:
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White paper titled “Fatigue Risk in Helicopter Operations: A Call to Action for the Implementation of a Fatigue Risk Management Program.” It was released this summer. This first artifact serves as an educational tool and a bridge in knowledge gaps in the industry, helping operators understand why formal fatigue risk management is necessary.
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Fatigue risk management program (FRMP) checklist that provides a tangible tool
• • for operators to self-assess their
current risk management maturity and identify areas for improvement.
Case study that will showcase real-world implementation and encourage other operators to follow suit.
Large-scale study of fatigue in air medical transport operations that will provide benchmarking data and help operators
By Chris Hill, senior director of safety with Vertical Aviation International
compare their fatigue risk levels to industry standards.
To learn more and follow the progress of this and other USHST safety enhancements, visit:
https://ushst.org/h-se-details/.
Fatigue is no joke, and it certainly isn’t seasonal. Don’t let fatigue turn you into a zombie! Unlike Halloween costumes and candy, fatigue is not something we can laugh off or ignore. It’s insidious and unforgiving. It stalks us quietly, blurs our judgment, and strikes when we least expect it.
So, take a hard look at yourself, your crew, and your company. Are you addressing fatigue with the seriousness it deserves, or are you shrugging it off until it comes back to haunt you? Now is the time to get intentional about managing your individual awareness and company fatigue policies.
Stay alert. Stay alive. Remember, zombies belong in movies, not in cockpits or on the hangar deck.
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