At 35,000 feet, pilots' main job is fighting fatigue

Flying an airliner can be downright boring these days.

Once it hits cruising altitude and weather or other problems don't arise, pilots often become more of a systems monitor until descent, because planes have become so highly automated. But pilots are quick to point out that the crew is always in command of what's happening. And since Sept. 11, 2001, they're essentially sealed in their cockpits, unable to move about the cabin like they used to, to stretch their legs.

"Once you're at cruise, there's nothing to do," said retired Northwest Airlines pilot Jack Neis of Apple Valley. "You're not allowed to read; you're not allowed to, as we've learned, use laptops. You're not allowed to listen to music. The only stimulant is conversation. So you better hope that you get along well with whoever you're flying with."

At the same time, he said, "you're supposed to sit in the seat, stay awake and pay attention."

The case of wayward Northwest Airlines Flight 188 has prompted federal officials to re-examine cockpit boredom and consider tighter rules to prevent distracted flying. At the same time, it might help the case of those who are pushing for training to teach pilots to cope with flight fatigue and for controlled naps in the cockpit.

Flight 188 flew onto the national radar on Oct. 21 when it dropped out of communication for 91 minutes and overshot the Twin Cities airport by about 100 miles on the four-hour San Diego to Twin Cities flight. The pilots -- Capt. Timothy B. Cheney, 53, of Gig Harbor, Wash., and First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, of Salem, Ore. -- said they were not asleep but were engrossed in looking at the airline's new scheduling policy on personal laptops, in violation of company rules, while air traffic controllers tried desperately to contact them.

Some worry that the blow to Delta Air Lines' corporate image -- although it was lame-duck Northwest, not its parent Delta, that was the target of late-night comics' jokes last week -- will work against efforts to confront the issue in an up-front way.

In a message to employees last week, Delta CEO Richard Anderson said: "This is really a basic in flying an airplane -- that you pay attention and that you act professionally, and that crew did not. We'll deal with it accordingly."

The case prompted Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week to broaden a look at distracted driving to include distracted flying. "We can't have these kinds of distractions in the cockpit," he said.

Aviation safety experts say the incident and ensuing uproar sheds light on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about pilots occasionally breaking the rules to combat fatigue and boredom.

"Is it reasonable to expect two very bright professionals to stare straight ahead with their hands folded for six hours at a time?" asked Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, a group based near Washington that focuses on airline safety issues.

Pilots and aviation experts all agree that one pilot often takes some down time during a long flight, provided the other pilot has acknowledged that he or she is in complete control. It's unheard of, though, for both pilots to disengage as they did on Flight 188. And that's what's puzzling.

"That's the thing that's scary, the thing that needs to be solved at this point. Why are two highly experienced people out of the loop that far, and how did we get there?" asked Jack Casey, a commercial airline pilot for 34 years who is now an aviation safety expert with Safety Operating Systems in Washington. "These guys have been around the pike for a while, and if it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone."

FAA rules do not specifically ban use of laptops or other personal electronic devices above 10,000 feet, but most airlines, including Delta, prohibit them. Delta is operating Northwest as a subsidiary until they obtain a joint operating certificate from the FAA.

Drawback of autopilot

Between the critical takeoffs and landings, operation of the plane is often shifted to its automated flight management system, barring bad weather or a problem that would prompt the pilot to take over more direct control.

"You don't necessarily have to do anything other than ascertain mentally and check off that it happened, that the electronics and the computer did what they were supposed to do," Casey said.

And therein lies the problem.

"Human beings, no matter how dedicated they are, are lousy monitors," he said. "You have to have people trained to be monitors and to take decisive and immediate action if they detect a problem. Which is where pilots are now. It's our job to make sure that the automation is doing its job."

Casey was quick to point out, though, that the crew is still always in charge of the flight above 10,000 feet.

Asked whether pilots are trained to handle boredom during those smooth flights and the sleepiness that goes with it, Neis said: "No. You're supposed to suck it up."

Controlled naps?

Pilots and airline safety advocates have been pushing the FAA to allow pilots to take controlled naps on flights to try to cope with sometimes grueling schedules. Some airlines in Europe and Asia already allow that, and the FAA is expected to propose new rules that may include a plan for controlled napping by pilots by the end of the year.

"I think any pilot that's honest would not be telling the truth if he or she said they didn't close their eyes," during a flight when the other pilot was in a position to take over, said retired Northwest pilot Richard Duxbury of Bloomington.

"If you are going to doze off ... you're better off to be up front about it. If you see your first officer dozing off or his eyes are closing, you simply announce, 'Hey, I've got it.' When you announce that, then you really do have it -- you don't go to sleep. But it's very unofficial, and illegal, I might add," said Duxbury, who retired as a 747 captain in 1996.

Duxbury, Voss and Neis all support the idea of controlled naps on longer flights, saying it will help keep pilots more alert for the crucial takeoff and landings or if problems arise. Casey says he supports further study of the issue. And they said it's better to bring it out in the open, which isn't always done now.

But given the furor over the incident, Voss acknowledged that it will be a challenge to get pilots to talk. "I'm not sure how we're going to get anyone to tell us what's really going on."

A teachable moment?

Saying the pilots put their passengers and crew in danger, the FAA last week sharply rebuked the pilots and revoked their licenses.

They have until Friday to appeal, and Casey said he hopes they do so.

"We learn from our mistakes and we want to know how this happened, but it will be in Delta's corporate interest to throw the pilots under the bus," he said. "I'm not sure it's in aviation's best interest to do that."

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report. Suzanne Ziegler • 612-673-1707