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This is regarding the power plant explosion in Middletown, CT a couple of days ago. It's been revealed that the workers were working 80 hours/week; about 12 1/2 hours per day 7 days a week for 6 months according to the article! That's right, just work and sleep with NO break at all for 6 months!
Now I realize businesses fear uncertainty as much as we do and initially add hours to existing employees before increasing hiring, but this is really off the wall! I'm sure it probably contributed to some fatigue-type error that related to the explosion (which if you go into the CT forum, you'll see some people who live near it thought it was an earthquake, it was that huge!).
I guess it goes to show how greedy and cheap some employers can be and at the same time, it's obvious they needed more workers.
It's like on Undercover Boss TV show the other night. People doing the several people's jobs, people trying to meet impossible productivity goals. Two new jobs were created from that show when they got this one employee help. You know companies across the nation are doing the same thing. I don't know who has it worse - the unemployed or the workers working 80 hour weeks for months at a time.
Regulations limiting flight time and pilot rest have been in place since the 1940s. The rules for domestic flights do no explicitly address the amount of time a pilot can be on duty. Rather, the rules address flight time limitations and required rest periods. Current FAA regulations for domestic flights generally limit pilots to eight hours of flight time during a 24-hour period. This limit may be extended provided the pilot receives additional rest at the end of the flight. However, a pilot is not allowed to accept, nor is an airline allowed to assign, a flight if the pilot has not has at least eight continuous hours of rest during the 24-hour period. In other words, the pilot needs to be able to look back in any preceding 24-hour period and find that he/she has had an opportunity for at least eight hours of rest. If a pilot’s actual rest is less than nine hours in the 24-hour period, the next rest period must be lengthened to provide for the appropriate compensatory rest. Airline rules may be stricter than the FAA’s regulations if the issue is part of a collective bargaining agreement.
Flight time and rest rules for U.S. air carrier international flights are different from the rules for domestic flights. International flights can involve more than the standard two-pilot crew and are more complex due to the scope of the operations. For international flights that require more than 12 hours of flight time, air carriers must establish rest periods and provide adequate sleeping facilities outside of the cockpit for in-flight rest.
An air carrier may not schedule any pilot and no pilot may accept an assignment for flight time in scheduled air transportation or other commercial flying if that pilot’s total flight time will exceed the regulatory limits.
Thanks for the link I was just too lazy to google it (no reason to), 8 hours of rest = 16 hours of duty.
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In other words, the pilot needs to be able to look back in any preceding 24-hour period and find that he/she has had an opportunity for at least eight hours of rest.
Oh and the FAA's definition of "rest" isn't what most people use as "rest". Rest begins 15 minutes after block in on day 1 and ends 30-45 mins (or whatever your airline uses) from departure the next morning on day 2. 8 hours of scheduled rest doesn't include travel time to/from the hotel as well as winding down and getting ready the next morning. So 8 hours of rest is really equal to about 5-6 hours of sleep.
Everywhere you go it seems, you see too few people trying to do the work of what used to be more. The level of service everywhere is suffering, and there will be more employee accidents like this because of it. I know some companies have cut back because they have to in order to stay profitable, but I believe a far greater number are cutting back on hours and employees, even though they are making profits, and using the "economy" as an excuse to do so.
Thanks for the link I was just too lazy to google it (no reason to), 8 hours of rest = 16 hours of duty.
Oh and the FAA's definition of "rest" isn't what most people use as "rest". Rest begins 15 minutes after block in on day 1 and ends 30-45 mins (or whatever your airline uses) from departure the next morning on day 2. 8 hours of scheduled rest doesn't include travel time to/from the hotel as well as winding down and getting ready the next morning. So 8 hours of rest is really equal to about 5-6 hours of sleep.
I could be wrong, and I'm not saying it justifies all the overwork, but don't they get like a full week off every month or so (since I also imagine the piloting is a 7 days/week job)?
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