CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 62Sleep and Work-Related FatigueSleep and related disordersHuman-Automation Interaction and Safety

Duty periods with early start times restrict the amount of sleep obtained by short-haul airline pilots

Open access
Roach, Gregory D., Sargent, Charli, Darwent, David, Dawson, Drew·2012·Accident Analysis & Prevention
DOI 10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.020
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Most of the research related to human fatigue in the aviation industry has focussed on long-haul pilots, but short-haul pilots also experience elevated levels of fatigue. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of early start times on the amount of sleep obtained prior to duty and on fatigue levels at the start of duty. Seventy short-haul pilots collected data regarding their duty schedule and sleep/wake behaviour for at least two weeks. Data were collected using self-report duty/sleep diaries and wrist activity monitors. Mixed-effects regression analyses were used to examine the effects of duty start time (04:00-10:00 h) on (i) the total amount of sleep obtained in the 12h prior to the start of duty and (ii) self-rated fatigue level at the start of duty. Both analyses indicated significant main effects of duty start time. In particular, the amount of sleep obtained in the 12h prior to duty was lowest for duty periods that commenced between 04:00 and 05:00 h (i.e. 5.4h), and greatest for duty periods that commenced between 09:00 and 10:00 h (i.e. 6.6h). These data indicate that approximately 15 min of sleep is lost for every hour that the start of duty is advanced prior to 09:00 h. In addition, self-rated fatigue at the start of duty was highest for duty periods that commenced between 04:00 and 05:00 h, and lowest for duty periods that commenced between 09:00 and 10:00 h. Airlines should implement a fatigue risk management system (FRMS) for short-haul pilots required to work early-morning shifts. One component of the FRMS should be focussed on the production of 'fatigue-friendly' rosters. A second component of the FRMS should be focussed on training pilots to optimise sleep opportunities, to identify circumstances where the likelihood of fatigue is elevated, and to manage the risks associated with fatigue-related impairment.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.020

Cites

27 of 27 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Human operators are estimated to lose between 15 and 30 minutes of sleep if their shift work commences prior to 09:00 in the morning.

    “Specifically, human operators are estimated to lose between 15 and 30 minutes of sleep if their shift work commences prior to 09:00 in the morning (Roach et al., 2012).”

    From The Analysis of Occurrences Associated with Air Traffic Volume and Air Traffic Controllers’ Alertness for Fatigue Risk Management (2021) · cites this paper as Roach et al., 2012

  • Sleep disorders screening in addition to circadian approaches and scheduled napping has shown effectiveness in improving safety.

    “To address these concerns, sleep disorders screening in addition to circadian approaches and scheduled napping have shown effectiveness in improving safety.189–197”

    From Sleep, Health, and Society (2017) · cites this paper as [197]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 29 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Roach, G. D., Sargent, C., Darwent, D., & Dawson, D.
Affiliations
University of South Australia (AU)
Corresponding author
Roach, Gregory D.
ORCID
Venue
Accident Analysis & Prevention
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-03
Volume
45
Pages
22-26
ISSN
0001-4575 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.020
OpenAlex
W2075818791
Cited by
62
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
FWCI
4.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Acquire (CQUniversity) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Australian Research Council
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Human-Automation Interaction and Safety
Keywords
pilot fatigue, sleep deprivation, sleep duration, fatigue risk management system, sleep-wake behavior
MeSH terms
Adult, Aerospace Medicine, Aviation, Fatigue, Female, Humans, Male, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Work Schedule Tolerance, Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review