Half of pilots fall asleep
HALF of all pilots have fallen asleep at the controls of airliners carrying hundreds of passengers, a report has found.
Surveys carried out by the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilots, found large numbers are half-asleep – or not even awake – while flying passenger aircraft.
Between 43 and 54 per cent of pilots polled in Britain, Norway and Sweden said they had fallen asleep “involuntarily” while flying – and a third of these said they woke to find their colleagues were also alseep.
The pilots’ group spokesman said: “Long duty and standby hours, night flights and disruptive schedules often result in long times awake, sleep deprivation and are followed by insufficient rest and poor sleep opportunities.”