Flight training has received little attention in fatigue research. Only transfers of knowledge gained in commercial and military aviation have been applied to general aviation without bridging the gap to the training environment. The purpose of this study was to assess collegiate aviation students’ perceptions of lifestyle and mitigation strategies related to fatigue. Participants were recruited from a Midwestern university’s accredited Part 141 flight school and a partner fixed base operator (FBO). The researchers of this study used a survey questionnaire to gather quantitative and qualitative responses. The majority of participants (68%) had logged less than 250 flight hours and were under 25 years of age (93%). Many respondents (66%) reported fatigued stemming from sleep quantity or quality deficits. The primary fatigue contributing factors included an insufficient resting time and an inadequate work-free time balance. Daily free time activities conducive to healthy sleep patterns were frequently neglected. Furthermore, several other factors that affected participants’ lifestyles resulted from demands imposed by the college environment. A finding of concern was that half of the sample did not consider themselves to engage in fully adequate bodily exercise, nutritional habits, and workload or stress management. These areas, however, are prime considerations when working towards healthy sleep patterns. Lastly, the researchers presented recommendations for future research. Findings from this study can assist the general aviation community in gaining a greater understanding of how collegiate aviation students perceive, process, and manage the risk of fatigue in aviation.
Abstract from Levin, E., Mendonca, F. C., Keller, J., & Teo, A. (2019). Fatigue In Collegiate Aviation. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 6(4).
Dr. Flavio A. C. Mendonca is an assistant professor and researcher in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University. Prior to entering academics, Dr. Mendonca served 30 years in the Brazilian Air Force as an officer, a pilot, and as an aircraft accident investigator. He has over 30 years of experience as a pilot, with approximately 4,000 flight hours. As a Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center member (2001-2007 and 2011-2014), Dr. Mendonca acted in the capacity of Investigator in Charge (IIC) of several aircraft accidents and serious incidents involving Part 121 and Part 135 operators as well as military aircraft.
Dr. Mendonca provided expertise related to aviation safety and the investigation of aircraft accidents and incidents during the ICAO safety management panel, acting as an adviser to the Brazilian team during the development of the first edition of the ICAO Annex 19 – Safety Management. Dr. Mendonca has conducted research studies regarding fatigue identification and management by Part 141 Collegiate Aviation Pilots.
His primary scholarly areas in aviation include aviation safety, fatigue in aviation, human factors, and the safety management of wildlife hazards to aviation.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/flavio_antonio_coimbra_mendonca/38/
Presented during Concurrent Session 2A: Aviation Safety Management Systems