Aviation and Human Factors: Dangers of Fatigue in Aviation

Aviation and Human Factors
With special reference to Dangers of fatigue in Aviation
Student Details
9/5/2019

HUMAN FACTORS IN AVIATION
Aviation and Fatigue Dangers
Fatigue is a word used to define a general sense of fatigue as well as energy shortage.
It is not just the feeling of sleepy as well as drowsy, however, sometimes a person is not
motivated and do not have any energy when they are tired. This essay deals with the risks
associated with fatigue that an aircraft pilot may experience or may relate to employees in the
aviation sector (Eduardo Salas, Scott I. Tannenbaum, & Kurt Kraiger, 2012).
According to ICAO (The International Civil Aviation Organization) fatigue is considered to
be a psychological state in which the mental or physical performance get reduced, which
results in loss of sleep or extended wakefulness, workload or circadian phase.
People often define fatigue using a range of terms including tiredness, exhaustion,
discomfort, absence of energy, and run-down feeling (Carl-Ulrik Schierup, Ronaldo
Munck, & Branka Likic-Brboric, 2015). Most Australians argue to have tiredness that is
intense enough to conflict with their regular life. An approximately 20% to 60% of the
fatigue was a casual explanation, while emotional or psychological causes accounted for the
other 40% to 80% of exhaustion cases. Regrettably, when people experience intense mental
or physical activity then this tends to cause a state of exhaustion among them (Jamie
A.Gruman & Alan M.Saks, 2011). If the same situation occurs in a plan's cabin where the
pilot feels fatigued, it can result in drastic outcomes. It is directly linked to the passengers’
comfort, which is travelling in the aircraft.
There are many prospective causes of fatigue in aviation industry. Most of the
illnesses known to humankind often list symptoms connected with exhaustion or fatigue.
Tiredness can happen as a normal reaction to physical and psychological exertion in ordinary
healthy people (Elaine Cohen, 2010). The factors behind the development of fatigue
throughout the aviation sector can be categorized as the related symptoms of several wide
categories of diseases, lifestyle issues or contextual problems. The triggers of exhaustion in
an aviation sector can be largely linked to variables such as absence of quality sleep or sleep
disorders, interruption of body clock, mental and emotional pressure (including family issues,
anxiety, or ride stress control), physical exertion including heavy practice or bad health,
dehydration or bad diet (Hartzler, 2014). Fatigue contributes to a decrease in one’s capacity
to perform duties. Many studies have shown important impairment in the capacity of a person
to perform duties requiring manual consent, awareness, and mental processing of higher-
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HUMAN FACTORS IN AVIATION
order (Herman Aguinis, Ryan K.Gottfredson, & HarryJoo, 2012). Tiredness can occur
acutely, i.e. after some important physical or mental activity in a comparatively short time.
As well as, over several days or even weeks, it may happen gradually (John Caldwell & J.
Lynn Caldwell, 2016). This scenario typically happens with someone that does not get
enough sleep across an extended period or someone with inadequate rest engaged in
continuing physical or mental operation.
Fatigue is a slight inconvenience for the average person, which can be resolved with a
break or stopping any activity that brought this on. There have been typically no important
effects (Larry F. Moore & P. Devereaux Jennings, 2017). However, if that individual is
engaged in safety-related operations such as operating a vehicle, learning to fly an aircraft,
conducting surgery, or operating a nuclear reactor, the effects of fatigue can be catastrophic
(Alan F. Stokes & Kirsten Kite, 2017). Tiredness is a life aspect that is expected and
omnipresent. Employees operating in an aviation sector may be faced with a situation in
which they experience enhanced discomfort with decreased job ability, decreased
performance effectiveness, energy loss or ability to react to stimuli, and are generally
accompanied by a sensation of tiredness and fatigue. Due to this fatigue conditions, there are
many dangers that can be encountered by the aircraft pilot as well as the passengers in it.
The primary dangers connected with fatigue or such circumstances encountered by a
pilot of the aircraft may pose the danger of dizziness, chest pain, breathlessness, swelling
(e.g. rectal bleeding or vomiting blood), severe pelvic, abdominal or back pain, high fever,
irregular or rapid heartbeat, etc. It is recommended that if an individual experience any of the
above-mentioned fatigue hazards they should instantly go to the Emergency service of a
hospital. However, in the aircraft when the pilot faces these types of situation then urgent
lending or some urgent medical treatments must be given to that pilot after taking charge of
aircraft from him or her in order to avoid any dangers (Commission, 2016). Various risks a
pilot may face can be a slower response, difficulty focusing on assignments leading to
procedural errors, attention delays, failure to anticipate incidents, greater risk tolerance,
forgetfulness, and decreased decision-making capacity (OsnatBouskila-Yam & Avraham
N.Kluger, 2011). Quality is most impacted when prolonged wakefulness and circadian
influences are combined. There is indeed a fatigue disorder, which is encountered by many
pilots that is Jet leg (Bruce A. Desmarais & Skyler J. Cranmer, 2011). Jet lag is the
situation where the pilots get so tired during most of the flight, the researchers wrote, and that
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