Fatigue and passenger pressure on a night VFR charter
You are a CPL holder rostered for a night VFR charter from FIMP to a private strip 45 NM away, departing 2130 local. You woke at 0430 after 4.5 hours of sleep (you had a late duty the previous day), completed a 10-hour duty starting 0600, and have had one short meal and little water. You feel mildly tired but deny symptoms. The aircraft is a Cessna 172; the route is over water for 15 NM, then along a dark coastline. The passenger is impatient and asks you to depart immediately. The weather is VFR: wind calm, visibility 10 km, no cloud, but the moon is new. You have 1.5 hours of flight time and 2 hours of fuel. Your roster shows you are within the company's maximum duty period but close to the flight-time limit.
1. Assess the fatigue and physiological risk using the details given.
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The risk is high. You had only 4.5 hours of sleep and have been awake since 0430; a 2130 departure means about 17 hours awake. The duty started at 0600 and has already run about 15.5 hours. One short meal and little water add dehydration and possible low blood sugar. The circadian low is approaching, and the flight is at night over water with a new moon, which increases the risk of visual illusions and disorientation. Fatigue impairs vigilance, reaction time, risk assessment and mood, and increases fixation and tolerance of poor decisions. Feeling only 'mildly tired' understates the impairment; denial is itself a warning sign.
2. What decision do you make, and why?
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I would not depart. Being within company duty limits does not make me fit to fly. The combination of 17 hours awake, 4.5 hours of sleep, dehydration, a night flight over water, a new moon and passenger pressure creates an unacceptable risk. The safe decision is to delay the flight until I have had rest, or cancel it. A CPL holder is responsible for the go/no-go decision; legality is a minimum, not a target.
3. How would you communicate the decision, and what mitigations would you consider if the flight were unavoidable?
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I would be assertive: 'I am not fit to conduct this flight tonight; we will delay until I have rested.' I would give the passenger the specific reason - long duty, little sleep, night over water - and offer alternatives. If the flight were genuinely unavoidable, mitigations would include at least 30 minutes of rest, food and water, delaying to daylight, adding a second pilot, and avoiding long over-water legs. Those measures reduce but do not remove the risk, so the default remains no flight.