In this article (in Dutch) from NOS.nl  there are serious claims about the safety of Qatar Airways flights because it states:

" We have observed for months in closed chat groups where dozens of Qatar Airways pilots complain about working conditions. Flight limits are extended to the extreme and the resulting fatigue complaints are ignored, it seems. The NOS spoke extensively with five pilots. For security reasons, they are listed anonymously in this article. They all say they fell asleep several times in the cockpit. "It's not a deep sleep, but you keep falling for 10 seconds. You seem to be drunk," describes one of the pilots. "You react slowly, you are easily distracted and lose awareness of your situation." Once, he forgot that he was supposed to land the plane. "I thought my colleague was flying the plane at the time. He had to remind me that that was my job."

" Despite the aviation treaty between the EU and Qatar, Qatar Airways is allowed to maintain its own rules for calculating flight limits. According to the pilots, these rules are the main cause of fatigue problems. The EU and Qatar have the same flight limits, but the hours are counted differently. For example, pilots cannot fly more than 100 hours in 28 days. But since the Qatar airline does not consider the rest time to On board as working hours, pilots flying for Qatar Airways can work more hours than European pilots. This mainly affects long-haul flights operated by multiple crews.   "Internal documents and schedules that the NOS has seen confirm that Qatar Airways calculates hours for flight limits in this way.

Flight limits calculation example

Suppose a pilot flies a 14-hour flight with two crews. He flies for 7 hours and rests for 7 hours in a designated rest area. According to European legislation, 14 hours are therefore added to the monthly flight limit. According to Qatari law, the flight limit is 7 hours. In this way, a Qatar Airways pilot can work more hours until he reaches the limit of 100 hours. "

It also states:

"Another problem is the culture of fear at Qatar Airways. Pilots are reluctant to file fatigue reports. They are afraid of receiving warning letters that hinder promotion and salary increases. The letters can even lead to firing." Receive those warning letters for smaller things, "says one pilot." So you have to be careful what you do and report. "

https://nos.nl/artikel/2443014-oververmoeide-piloten-qatar-airways-slaan-alarm-om-veiligheid

Why does this not surprise me?

The worst has yet to come!

The Ethiopian crew from the other incident might find this interesting.

My oversimplification: There's a shortage of pilots, and those remaining are worked around the clock.

On 9/7/2022 at 10:26 AM, RobPol471 said:

Flight limits calculation example

Suppose a pilot flies a 14-hour flight with two crews. He flies for 7 hours and rests for 7 hours in a designated rest area. According to European legislation, 14 hours are therefore added to the monthly flight limit. According to Qatari law, the flight limit is 7 hours. In this way, a Qatar Airways pilot can work more hours until he reaches the limit of 100 hours. "

 

thats one way of fudging the monthy duty limits. 

I fear this is the tip of a global iceberg. These are the articles that make the news. Who  knows what goes on out there.

Once while on vacation in Asia our A320 landed and there was a crew change. Except the incoming pilots looked like they had just rolled out of bed. Yawning, rubbing eyes, stretching away by the door. They then shuffled into the cockpit.

It really seems like these aviators face that old demon of "If you dont wanna do this we have 100 others waiting behind you who do"

Now we need a secure website set up where airliner pilots from all over the world can anonymously submit data on this terrible practice to get some idea of how bad it is.

24 minutes ago, ThrottleUp said:

It really seems like these aviators face that old demon of "If you dont wanna do this we have 100 others waiting behind you who do"

Alas, I believe that's no longer true. There is a smaller and smaller pool of available pilots, which is one reason for so many cancelled flights, as well as crew who are being pushed closer to their max legal time.

How worried should the travelling public be about pilot fatigue and low moral across the industry right now on a scale of 1 to 10?

……10

3 hours ago, jon b said:

How worried should the travelling public be about pilot fatigue and low moral across the industry right now on a scale of 1 to 10?

……10

Big oof... 

On 9/15/2022 at 5:01 PM, jon b said:

How worried should the travelling public be about pilot fatigue and low moral across the industry right now on a scale of 1 to 10?

……10

 

On 9/15/2022 at 8:37 PM, threegreen said:

Big oof... 

with all due respect Jon your lot have always been moaning about fatigue, and not being in the lower green, and that was way before JP's issues with Jepps. But thats for another day. 

Edited September 26, 20223 yr by fluffyflops