NTSB takes aim at sleep apnea

On Feb. 13, 2008, passengers aboard a Go! flight in Hawaii never realized how lucky they were when the plane landed in one piece. Both the pilot and co-pilot fell asleep while the plane was aloft and actually flew 26 miles past its landing site, the airport at Hilo. “The captain and first officer inadvertently [fell] asleep during the cruise phase of flight,” noted the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its final report.

Fortunately for all aboard, the jet carried extra fuel for a return trip to Honolulu. That extra fuel came in handy when the pilots awake and learned they had flown past the runway — and airport.

As a result of falling asleep, both pilots were suspended pending investigation.

According to the NTSB’s findings, “the captain’s undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the flight crew’s recent work schedules, which included several consecutive days of early-morning start times” all played into this event, which ended without injury or loss of life.

Commercial pilots who have obstructive sleep apnea are significantly under-diagnosed, the NTSB indicated in its final report. Continuing, the NTSB suggests the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) develop guidance for pilots, employers, and physicians about ways to better identity individuals at-risk for sleep apnea, as well as ways to treat those individuals who are later diagnosed with the sleep-breathing disorder.

In its findings, the NTSB says that pilots and flight crews need additional guidance, as it becomes available, concerning the risks of fatigue during consecutive early-morning, short-haul multi-segment flights.

The NTSB suggests the following recommendations be implemented by airlines:

• Pilots should be screened for sleep disorders during medical certification.
• More research should be conducted on fatigue in short-haul flight operations.
• Any information from research on fatigue should be made available to flight crews working short-haul flights.
• Guidance from research should be included in operators’ operating specifications.
• The FAA should implement a program to identify pilots at high risk for sleep apnea.
• Guidance should be made available for pilots, employers and physicians regarding the identification and treatment of individuals at high risk of sleep apnea.

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Tagged as: FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, flight crews, Go! Airlines, Hawaii, National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, sleep-breathing disorder