Pilots' long commute may lead to fatigue

WASHINGTON -- One in five airline pilots lives at least 750 miles from work, according to a study by scientific advisers to the government, raising concerns that long commutes to airports could lead to fatigue in the cockpit.

The study was based on home addresses of more than 25,000 pilots. Six percent of pilots listed a primary residence at least 1,500 miles from the airline base where they begin flights, according to a National Research Council report released Wednesday.

Although a significant share of pilots list addresses hundreds of miles from their base, it's not clear that they routinely begin their commutes to work from those addresses, the report said.

The council said it is difficult to determine the safety risk of long commutes without more information about the practices of individual pilots.

Pilot unions and airlines have maintained that pilots can safely commute long distances to work if they act responsibly. For instance, a pilot might fly across the country to reach his airline's base but then sleep overnight in a hotel before showing up for work the next day well-rested.

"There are lots of stories and anecdotes but no systematic information," said Indiana University professor Clinton Oster Jr., chairman of the panel.

The council studied the issue after an airline crash killed 50 people in February 2009 near Buffalo. The flight's co-pilot had commuted overnight from her home near Seattle to her airline's base in Newark for the flight. The captain, who regularly commuted from Florida to Newark, had spent the night before the flight in an airport crew lounge where sleeping was discouraged.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was likely both pilots were suffering from fatigue, but couldn't determine if fatigue contributed to crash without more information.-- AP