Fatigue Study News Today

An air traffic controller and manager suspended this time in cleveland, ohio. the controller wasnt sleeping but he was watching a dvd on the job. a movie. the faa released this statement, quote, the controllers microphone was inadvertently activated transmitting the soundtrack of the movie over the radio frequency for that air space, unquote. aviation officials announced regulations to prevent controllers from snoozing on the job. they will require a nine-hour rest period between shifts. >> we g...

Recommendation really from a fatigue study that we just are releasing and that study says that pilots should actually have nine hours and we thought that controllers should, too. but look. if thats not enough hours, and thats really one of the reasons that the administrator and the president of the controllers union are traveling the country starting in your bailiwick today, in atlanta, talking to controllers about workplace rules, about more rest. and if it needs to be more, obviously well take...

Towers. and i want to make sure that happens. >> mr. secretary, i know that one of these new rules is it extends the rest period. it used to be an eight-hour rest period. now tuts a nine-hour rest period. how much of a difference do we think this is really going to make? >> well, we got that recommendation really from a fatigue study that we just are releasing, and that study says that pilots should actually have nine hours. and we thought that controllers should too. but look, if thats not enou...

Industry in america is the safest in the world. but we can do better. and we will do better. >> faa officials and air traffic controllers union are starting a nationwide tour in atlanta to talk to controllers to hear their concerns, but to also hammer home the issue of safety. sandra endo, cnn, washington. a short time ago transportation secretary ray lahood met with controllers at a regional radar facility just outside atlanta talking to them about those new rules. part after nationwide tour ...

All of this as i understand it so the controllers can get a long weekend. they work five shifts in four days and then get three or four days off. question, why didnt you tell the controllers a long time ago those schedules are nuts and they are not safe? >> because we thought controllers really were getting that rest that they needed chris and it was obvious from the interviews that we have done with controllers that have been now suspended because they fell asleep that some of them during their...

Controllers can get a long weekend and work five shifts in four days and then get 3-4 days off. question, why didnt you tell the controllers a long time ago, those schedules are nuts and they are not safe. >> we thought controllers were getting the rest they needed, chris, and it was obvious from the interviews we have done, with controllers that have now been suspended because they fell asleep, some of them during their rest periods may have been doing other things, rather than resting and we w...

All of this as i understand it so the controllers can get a long weekend. they work five shifts in four days and then get three or four days off. question, why didnt you tell the controllers a long time ago those schedules are nuts and they are not safe? >> because we thought controllers really were getting that rest that they needed chris and it was obvious from the interviews that we have done with controllers that have been now suspended because they fell asleep that some of them during their...