Air Transport

The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) says it is going to track incidents related to pilot fatigue in the carrier's mainline fleet, with a view to improving rostering patterns.

Under ACPA's fatigue tracking initiative, Air Canada pilots are documenting incidents of fatigue and contributing factors, using an internationally accepted form for collecting data on fatigue. Using this "proven tool" and scientifically accepted collection and reporting methods, the pilots say they are creating a database that will be used to document fatigue in Canada and compare data with global industry standards.

ACPA says that Canada has not changed its pilot duty time regulations since 1996 despite the fact that the International Civil Aviation Organisation has recently adopted new standards requiring regulations to be based on scientific data, and both the European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration are reviewing existing regulations with that in mind.

The results of ACPA's study will be shared with Air Canada and Transport Canada with the intention of improving duty schedules to reduce the fatigue risk. The Air Canada pilots point out that, at a public hearing into the February fatal crash of a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 near Buffalo, New York, the board heard evidence that pilot fatigue may have contributed to it.

Chair of ACPA's technical and safety division Capt Barry Wiszniowski says: "We look forward to working in partnership with Air Canada to address the issue of efficient duty schedules. We also look forward to assisting the federal government on regulations that meet ICAO's requirements for a fatigue risk management system based on science and the factual data we collect."