Fatigue Risk Management - SM4 Safety Articles & Resources

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Stressed female pilot sitting at the airport.

Sleep Duration Is a Key Factor in Predicting On-Duty Alertness

After a poor night of sleep, it is common to feel tired, sluggish and even irritable. More important for air operators, poor sleep is also associated with increased fatigue—which can directly impact employee performance and put lives at risk.

Posted on September 5, 2023
Female aviator in uniform with her head down feeling fatigued and stressed.

Understanding the Effect of Increased Aviation Demand and Fatigue on Pilots

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the aviation industry, with travel restrictions and flight cancellations severely impacting air travel over the past three years. Business aviation was one of the most impacted air travel sectors, as organizations opted for virtual meetings or found other ways to engage remotely with their clients and colleagues.

Posted on April 4, 2023
runner on track

Managing Fatigue with Quantitative Data

It may be November, but the clouds are clearing for air operators. People are flying again. Business meetings are being scheduled live. And the busy holiday season is coming up soon. Is your flight department ready?

Posted on November 2, 2021
caffeine power

Caffeine Will Enable Me To Power Through My Day. Right?

Worrying about the current public health crisis and how it affects our jobs, our lives and our health is something that all of us have experienced to some degree over the past year. Unsurprisingly, an increasing number of people have been reporting sleep disturbances since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Posted on June 7, 2021
Running with time

How to Combat Revenge Procrastination

We all know that sleep is important. When we don’t get the 7‐9 hours of daily sleep recommended by the National Sleep Foundation and endorsed by a consensus of top scientists, we feel groggy and irritable. It can affect our relationships. Our performance at work suffers.

Posted on March 1, 2021
Pilot wearing face mask completing preflight checklist

How Many Hours Are You Really Working?

While commercial airlines continue to struggle amid a dearth of passenger volume, many business aviation and charter air operators have experienced a strong recovery since the initial COVID-19 slowdown this past spring—and indeed, some are busier than ever.

Posted on December 1, 2020
Woman and man pilots standing on runway

Managing Workplace Fatigue During COVID-19

It has been barely six months since the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was first identified, four months since the first U.S. cases were mentioned in the news and some 10 weeks since lockdowns were imposed to help stem the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Posted on June 26, 2020
Exhausted rubbing his eyes

How to Fly Reliably Alert

Clearly, you don’t want to be in a safety‐sensitive situation when a lapse of attention occurs. For your own safety and that of your passengers and fellow crew, it is imperative that you be reliably alert throughout your duty period. But how do you go about ensuring alertness?

Posted on February 3, 2020
Woman hitting snooze on her alarm clock

Researchers Identify 2 New Chronotypes

Are you a night owl or an early bird? If this question has you struggling to answer for certain, rest assured: you probably belong to one of two new groups…

Posted on August 1, 2019