The railroads are starting to worry about some of the new regulations coming down from the Federal Railroad Association (FRA). The regulators are looking to automatic anti-collision systems. These systems are extremely expensive.
Forget the fancy computers, just upgrade operator performance with alertness testing.
I have a call in to the FRA.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Research Report
Our research report on testing is available as a download on the BLT web site. (Click the "Research Report" above and then select "Research Report" from the list of "BLT Publications"). This report provides background on the development of our software and explains how it was tested. Briefly, we conducted sleep deprivation trials for validity testing and implementation trials to see how testing is accepted in the workplace.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Half Way to Goa
From the Times of India (24 May 09):
"An Air India Jaipur-Mumbai flight flew well past its destination with both its pilots fatigued and fast asleep in the cockpit. When the pilots were finally woken up by anxious Mumbai air traffic controllers, the plane was about half way to Goa.
"This nap in the sky took place about a fortnight ago on the domestic leg of a Dubai-Jaipur-Mumbai flight — IC 612 — which had about 100 passengers on board. "The plane took off from Dubai at 1.35am IST and then from Jaipur at 7am. After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak, and so the pilots dozed off after taking off from Jaipur," said a source.
"The flight schedules of pilots prior to this flight is not known.
"The aircraft was supposed to take the A 474 South route — a designated route to Mumbai — and since it was on autopilot, it headed in that direction. "It was only after the aircraft reached Mumbai airspace that air traffic controllers realized it was not responding to any instructions and was carrying on on its own course," said the source.
"Said an air traffic controller: "The aircraft should have begun its descent about 100 miles from Mumbai, but here it was still at cruising altitude. We checked for hijack and when there was no response we made a SELCAL (selective calling)."
"Every aircraft has its own exclusive code. When the ATC uses this high frequency communication system — which it does very rarely and only when other communication draws a blank — a buzzer sounds in the cockpit. Jolted by the sound of the SELCAL buzzer, the pilots woke up and brought the plane back to Mumbai safely.
"Kanu Gohain, directorate general of civil aviation, was not available for comment. Contacted for its version on Wednesday evening, Jitendra Bhargava, director, public relations of Air India, said, "The director, operations, is getting information on the matter."
"General manager, Mumbai aerodrome, M G Junghare, denied that the pilots were asleep behind the control column. "The aircraft had a radio communications failure and so could not be contacted. It had gone only 10 or 15 miles off Mumbai and after we ascertained that it was not hijacked we made the SELCAL," he said.
by Manju Vayalar, TNN
"An Air India Jaipur-Mumbai flight flew well past its destination with both its pilots fatigued and fast asleep in the cockpit. When the pilots were finally woken up by anxious Mumbai air traffic controllers, the plane was about half way to Goa.
"This nap in the sky took place about a fortnight ago on the domestic leg of a Dubai-Jaipur-Mumbai flight — IC 612 — which had about 100 passengers on board. "The plane took off from Dubai at 1.35am IST and then from Jaipur at 7am. After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak, and so the pilots dozed off after taking off from Jaipur," said a source.
"The flight schedules of pilots prior to this flight is not known.
"The aircraft was supposed to take the A 474 South route — a designated route to Mumbai — and since it was on autopilot, it headed in that direction. "It was only after the aircraft reached Mumbai airspace that air traffic controllers realized it was not responding to any instructions and was carrying on on its own course," said the source.
"Said an air traffic controller: "The aircraft should have begun its descent about 100 miles from Mumbai, but here it was still at cruising altitude. We checked for hijack and when there was no response we made a SELCAL (selective calling)."
"Every aircraft has its own exclusive code. When the ATC uses this high frequency communication system — which it does very rarely and only when other communication draws a blank — a buzzer sounds in the cockpit. Jolted by the sound of the SELCAL buzzer, the pilots woke up and brought the plane back to Mumbai safely.
"Kanu Gohain, directorate general of civil aviation, was not available for comment. Contacted for its version on Wednesday evening, Jitendra Bhargava, director, public relations of Air India, said, "The director, operations, is getting information on the matter."
"General manager, Mumbai aerodrome, M G Junghare, denied that the pilots were asleep behind the control column. "The aircraft had a radio communications failure and so could not be contacted. It had gone only 10 or 15 miles off Mumbai and after we ascertained that it was not hijacked we made the SELCAL," he said.
by Manju Vayalar, TNN
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Tragedy in Buffalo
From the voice recordings of cockpit conversations we can begin to understand the circumstances surrounding the tragic end of Continental Flight 3407 in Buffalo, NY on Feb 12, 2009. The pilots apparently neglected to monitor their falling airspeed. Ice was evident on the windshield. Then there was a stall warning. Captain Renslow may have misinterpred the situation and pulled back on the stick instead of pushing it forward which would have allowed the plane to regain speed. The resulting stall was fatal to the crew and fifty people. The slow and incorrect response to the stall warning makes little sense to experienced pilots trying to understand this event.
The investigation is still pending, but I am going to suggest that the error made here was a consequence of a chain of errors leading up to the flight. Both the pilot and the co-pilot were probably very tired. The co-pilot had been skiing the day before and had taken the red-eye flight from Seattle. At the start of her shift on the evening of Feb 12 she had possibly been awake for 36 hours. The pilot had been using the Continental computer system before dawn so he may have been tired as well. An incorrect response to a sudden alarm is typical of a fatigued individual. The distracting cockpit banter during landing is also typical of two tired people trying to stay awake and alert.
I reluctantly fault the pilots in this case. But the poor judgement may be more on Continental management for not monitoring the shifts and circadian rhythms of their crews. There are plenty of simple steps that could have been taken to insure the pilots were well rested including, of course, testing them when they came on shift. BLT has the technology to do that. The crash occurred 59 minutes after takeoff.
The investigation is still pending, but I am going to suggest that the error made here was a consequence of a chain of errors leading up to the flight. Both the pilot and the co-pilot were probably very tired. The co-pilot had been skiing the day before and had taken the red-eye flight from Seattle. At the start of her shift on the evening of Feb 12 she had possibly been awake for 36 hours. The pilot had been using the Continental computer system before dawn so he may have been tired as well. An incorrect response to a sudden alarm is typical of a fatigued individual. The distracting cockpit banter during landing is also typical of two tired people trying to stay awake and alert.
I reluctantly fault the pilots in this case. But the poor judgement may be more on Continental management for not monitoring the shifts and circadian rhythms of their crews. There are plenty of simple steps that could have been taken to insure the pilots were well rested including, of course, testing them when they came on shift. BLT has the technology to do that. The crash occurred 59 minutes after takeoff.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
In Iraq
Some years ago we were called upon to submit a plan for the use of our technology by the Army Tank Corps. Tanks travel fast and in the hands of a fatigued/impaired driver can be deadly. We need to dust that concept off again.
"WASHINGTON - The 130,000 American troops serving in Iraq are more likely to die in accidents, from natural causes, or in other "nonhostile" incidents than at the hands of insurgents, according to Defense Department statistics for the past eight months ending in April.
"The statistics highlight the dramatic reduction of violence in Iraq over the past year, but also underscore a challenge that has bedeviled US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since hostilities began: A steady stream of soldiers and Marines are losing their lives in circumstances that are often preventable.
"Between September 2008 and April 2009, 72 troops died in Iraq from accidents, illness, or suicide, compared with 67 who died in action, according to the Pentagon - the first extended period in the six-year conflict where insurgents did not pose the greatest threat.
"The biggest cause of nonhostile deaths remains accidents. Since the start of the war in March 2003 more than 500 troops have died from vehicle or aircraft crashes and other accidents such as falls, according to the data.
Quotes are excerpted from Bryan Bender at bender@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
"WASHINGTON - The 130,000 American troops serving in Iraq are more likely to die in accidents, from natural causes, or in other "nonhostile" incidents than at the hands of insurgents, according to Defense Department statistics for the past eight months ending in April.
"The statistics highlight the dramatic reduction of violence in Iraq over the past year, but also underscore a challenge that has bedeviled US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since hostilities began: A steady stream of soldiers and Marines are losing their lives in circumstances that are often preventable.
"Between September 2008 and April 2009, 72 troops died in Iraq from accidents, illness, or suicide, compared with 67 who died in action, according to the Pentagon - the first extended period in the six-year conflict where insurgents did not pose the greatest threat.
"The biggest cause of nonhostile deaths remains accidents. Since the start of the war in March 2003 more than 500 troops have died from vehicle or aircraft crashes and other accidents such as falls, according to the data.
Quotes are excerpted from Bryan Bender at bender@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Fatigue Management Conference in Boston
I am at the International Conference on Fatigue Management in Transportation Operations. Anneke Heitmann has just presented the results of our three year study of sleep deprivation and alertness testing. Audience interest and participation was very good. Our booth in the exhibits room has attracted numerous interested parties from a great many different industries.
We have three laptops set up continuously cycling through the BLT alertness test.
Its amazing how the issue of fatigue runs through such a variety of industries. We have the FAA, trucking companies, airlines, military and hospital administrators coming by our table and taking sample tests. It is my hope that alertness testing will be recognized as a useful tool, not a cure-all, but something that can make a difference.
We have three laptops set up continuously cycling through the BLT alertness test.
Its amazing how the issue of fatigue runs through such a variety of industries. We have the FAA, trucking companies, airlines, military and hospital administrators coming by our table and taking sample tests. It is my hope that alertness testing will be recognized as a useful tool, not a cure-all, but something that can make a difference.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Drunk Pilots - Again?
At Heathrow Airport last Sunday a United Airlines pilot was arrested in the cockpit just prior to takeoff on suspicion of being drunk. He was. He would have taken the controls of the Boeing 777 had it not been for a last minute call from an observant ground crew. It could have been an extremely dangerous 5,300 mile flight to San Francisco.
The situation just described is highly unusual. Pilot fatigue is a far more serious problem. But in the case of fatigue the the pilot would be just as impaired. BLT has long maintained that commercial pilots should be tested for alertness prior to piloting an aircraft. Our short 2 minute BLT Alertness Test is sensitive to fatigue and to other causes of impairment like drugs and alcohol. And while we do not generally anticipate alcohol impairment, obviously, it does happen. The question is how often. In this case detection was almost by chance.
Aircraft mechanics spend hundreds of hours checking an aircraft for flight readiness. Checklist are filled out, inspections are made. As all of us can attest, if a critical component is not right, the aircraft does not fly. Yet the most critical component, the pilot, is not checked at all.
A consistent program of testing will deter this kind of behavior and offer better safety to thousands of passengers who rely on others. Our test will stop drunk pilots before they board.
The situation just described is highly unusual. Pilot fatigue is a far more serious problem. But in the case of fatigue the the pilot would be just as impaired. BLT has long maintained that commercial pilots should be tested for alertness prior to piloting an aircraft. Our short 2 minute BLT Alertness Test is sensitive to fatigue and to other causes of impairment like drugs and alcohol. And while we do not generally anticipate alcohol impairment, obviously, it does happen. The question is how often. In this case detection was almost by chance.
Aircraft mechanics spend hundreds of hours checking an aircraft for flight readiness. Checklist are filled out, inspections are made. As all of us can attest, if a critical component is not right, the aircraft does not fly. Yet the most critical component, the pilot, is not checked at all.
A consistent program of testing will deter this kind of behavior and offer better safety to thousands of passengers who rely on others. Our test will stop drunk pilots before they board.
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