FAA issues new controller fatigue rules

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration has announced new steps to help prevent air traffic controllers from falling asleep on the job, including allowing the use of sick or annual leave time if controllers are too tired to work.

Controllers will now be allowed to listen to the radio and read to help stay alert during overnight shifts when traffic is light under an agreement between the FAA and National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

However, the policy change doesn't allow controllers to take naps while on break or schedule naps on overnight shifts even though sleep scientists say that's the most effective way to refresh tired workers. Currently, controllers caught napping, even on break, can be fired.

Since April, the FAA has disclosed seven instances of controllers sleeping on the job and two other instances of controllers who didn't respond to attempts to contact them. In one case, two airliners landed at Reagan National Airport near Washington without assistance from a controller, who has admitted to dozing off.

Studies show most night shift workers, not just controllers, face difficulties staying awake no matter how much sleep they've had. That's especially true if they aren't active or don't have work that keeps them mentally engaged. Controllers on night shifts often work overnight in darkened rooms with frequent periods of little or no air traffic to occupy their attention -- conditions scientists say are conducive to falling asleep.

"Air traffic controllers have the responsibility to report rested and ready to work so they can safely perform their operational duties," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said. "But we also need to make sure we have the right policies in place to reduce the possibility of fatigue in the workplace."

John Goglia, a former National Transportation Safety Board member and a member of an FAA fatigue advisory committee, said that even with the policy changes, the agency's approach to fatigue lags far behind contemporary scientific understanding of how to prevent workers from falling asleep or becoming so tired their ability to function is eroded.

"Ironically, the information on what is an enlightened policy on fatigue resides within the FAA in all the [research] they've done over the years on fatigue," Goglia said.