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The FAA, in a continued effort to improve aviation safety, asked a panel of fatigue experts to find new ways to address air traffic controller fatigue.
The panel consists of three individuals who will focus on the latest science on sleep needs and fatigue considerations and how these could be applied to controller work requirements and scheduling. The panel will find ways the FAA can improve how it is addressing controller fatigue. Through the panel's work, the members will review previous controller-fatigue research. Panelists will begin working in January and a final report will be provided to the FAA about six weeks later.
The panel includes Mark Rosekind, a safety and sleep/fatigue professional and former NTSB member as chair; Charles Czeisler, chief and senior physician, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, head of the NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory.RELATED STORIES:FAA enhancing ATC training, deploying tower simulator systems after recommendations from safety review teamFAA achieves 1,500-controller hiring goal for 2023FAA launches 'Stand Up for Safety' campaign for controllersFAA forms independent safety review team
With an increase in runway incursions over the last year, the FAA has taken various actions to improve ATC training and safety reporting after a review team released a report with several recommendations. The FAA said it would take immediate action. The review team was a panel convened after the Safety Summit in March, consisting of experts from across the industry to review and make recommendations to the FAA to improve safety nationwide.
The FAA plans to bolster training and hiring and find other ways to improve the safety of the national airspace and across the industry.