Concerned about developing a fuller understanding of pilot fatigue, stress and other factors, in 2010 the British Air Line Pilots’ Association (BALPA) funded our project to investigate the pilot lifestyle. BALPA intended to use the study to inform the European Aviation Safety Agency’s deliberations on a new Europe-wide flight time limitation (FTL) scheme. BALPA knew that an FTL developed without reference to an accurate model of pilots’ physical and psychological capacities and general behavior patterns might increase operational risk.
While there has been some research into the pilot lifestyle over the years, the BALPA-funded study was notable for its scale. Three research instruments were used: a sleep log (SLOG), an on-line questionnaire and interviews (See, “Before and After”). Pilots kept SLOGs, ranging in length from 2,000 to 9,000 words, for three weeks. By the end of the research period (summer …
