Fatigue Before a Night Cross-Country
A pilot has just finished a 10-hour shift as a warehouse supervisor, including 6 hours on his feet. He slept 4.5 hours the previous night because of a family issue. He plans a 2.5-hour night cross-country flight with two friends to a nearby city, departing at 21:00. He has had two cups of coffee and feels 'a bit tired but okay'. The aircraft is a single-engine type without autopilot. The route is over dark terrain with few ground lights. He has 150 hours total time and 20 hours at night, and he is not instrument rated. During preflight he yawns repeatedly and has difficulty concentrating on the checklist; he almost forgets to check the fuel quantity. His friends are excited and have already loaded their bags. The weather is forecast to be clear with light winds.
1. Assess the fatigue risk using a recognised framework and list the contributing factors.
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Using IMSAFE, the pilot clearly has fatigue. He has had 4.5 hours sleep, a 10-hour shift with 6 hours standing, and a planned night flight. Contributing factors include acute sleep loss, extended wakefulness, physical fatigue, circadian low at night, and a demanding flight environment with no autopilot over dark terrain. He has consumed caffeine, which may mask but not reverse impairment.
His preflight behaviour, including yawning, poor concentration, and almost missing a fuel check, is objective evidence of degraded attention. The risk is high, not marginal. Fatigue impairs vigilance, reaction time, working memory, and decision making, and the effects can be similar to alcohol intoxication. The flight requires sustained attention for 2.5 hours, which makes the risk unacceptable.
2. Should he fly? Justify your decision.
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No. The combination of sleep loss, long duty day, night conditions, and preflight errors means he is not fit to fly. The checklist omissions show that his attention and memory are already degraded. A night cross-country without autopilot over dark terrain is unforgiving of lapses. The presence of friends and their excitement adds social pressure, which can further impair judgement.
The safe decision is to cancel or postpone the flight, arrange alternative transport, and allow time for sleep. Caffeine and pushing through are not acceptable mitigations. The pilot should recognise that fatigue is a hazard like weather or fuel, and that the correct response is a no-go.
3. If the flight is postponed to next morning, what further steps reduce risk?
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He should get a full night's sleep, ideally 7-8 hours, and avoid alcohol. He should plan the flight for a time after his normal wake-up, not at the end of a long duty period. He should re-check weather, fuel, and aircraft, and use a fresh checklist. He should eat properly and stay hydrated.
He could also consider flying with another pilot or instructor if he wants an extra layer of safety, but he should not rely on that to fix fatigue. A personal fatigue minimum should be set: no flying after less than 6 hours sleep or after a 10-hour duty day. The key is to treat the postponement as a safety decision, not a failure.