FAA Suspended Slumbering Go! Pilots

By Gregory Polek

September 24, 2008
Accidents, Air Transport and Cargo

The FAA suspended the two pilots who fell asleep during a scheduled flight for Mesa Air Group’s Hawaiian subsidiary Go! earlier this year for careless and reckless operation of an aircraft, the agency said yesterday. The captain, who received a citation for failing to maintain radio communications, received a 60-day suspension. The first officer incurred a 45-day suspension. Both pilots completed their suspensions on September 9.

One of three accidents and an incident cited by the NTSB as the basis for a pair or recommendations to the FAA this past spring, the case involved a Mesa Airlines Bombardier CRJ200 that flew past its destination airport, General Lyman Field in Hilo, Hawaii, after its pilots fell asleep at the controls during a February 18 revenue flight. ATC repeatedly attempted to contact the crew for more than 18 minutes, as the airplane flew over Maui, crossed the big island of Hawaii and headed southeast over the Pacific Ocean. The airplane traveled 26 nm beyond its intended destination airport before the flight crew responded.

Testimony during a June 10 NTSB hearing in Washington revealed that the crew of the Mesa flight–operating as Go!, the Phoenix-based airline’s Hawaiian subsidiary–were working the third day of a trip schedule that involved repeated early start times and demanding sequences of short flight segments. The NTSB learned that after the incident, a doctor diagnosed the captain with severe obstructive sleep apnea, which left untreated results in reduced sleep quality, chronic fatigue and, in severe cases, cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, Mesa fired both pilots and the FAA did not cite the airline for any safety violations.
By ; channels: AT, AS1

Back

FAA Publishes Helo EMS Rule Changes November 18, 2008 Late last week the FAA published long-awaited proposed revisions in the operations specification governing helicopter EMS (HEMS) flights under... [more]
Embraer confident about future of air-transport industry November 10, 2008 “World air travel should grow [at] five percent per year between 2009 to 2028,” according to forecast data released last week by Brazilian... [more]
Mexican Learjet 45 Crash: Accident or Sabotage? November 06, 2008 NTSB and Mexican aviation accident investigators are on scene in Mexico City, where a Learjet 45 (XC-VMC) crashed into a mixed... [more]
Aeromed firm’s ticket reinstated November 01, 2008 NTSB Administrative Law Judge William Pope II last month reversed an FAA emergency order of revocation issued in June that grounded Punta Gorda,... [more]
Brazilian Government Picks E190 for Transport November 01, 2008 Brazilian OEM Embraer has signed a contract with the Brazilian government to supply two E190 airliners for government transport. The two... [more]