Managing Fatigue in Long Duration Airlift Operations 1994
Abstract
During September, 1994 the operational tempo for US Air Force C-5 transport crews was at a record high. Support flights were routinely sent to assist international efforts to bring peace to warring factions in Rwanda, Somalia and, in addition to their normal full time responsibilities, there were additional flights needed to reinstate the elected government in Haiti. I interviewed crews at Dover AFB to learn their perspectives of the sources and the extent of fatigue on these sustained missions. Many of these crews had participated in Operation Restore Hope II to Somalia which involved multiple 25 + hour flights from the US to Somalia before crew resting in Cairo. I learned the pace of C-S operations has remained at record levels since the Gulf War. Important issues identified by the crews were cumulative sleep debt, circadian disruption and their impact on mission safety. I was able to accompany a crew throughout a planned 10 day support mission. This report is based on my conversations with about 35 officers and enlisted transport crews. I was impressed with the similarity of the comments for the primary sources of frustration and fatigue in the conduct of C-S missions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADP010655
Entities
People
- Jonathan French
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory