Aviat Space Envir Md
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Deployment of troops in foreign theaters requires a massive airlift capability. The fatigue encountered in such operations can be severe enough to pose a flight safety hazard. The current study documents sleep and the effect of fatigue on aircrew performance during re-supply missions in support of Canadian troops in Bosnia in 1996. ⋯ Our transport pilots showed a pattern of progressively decreasing sleep. Self-rated scores for alertness, mental and physical fatigue, indicate a deterioration of alertness, and an increase in fatigue throughout the long transatlantic flights.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Nov 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialMelatonin and zopiclone as pharmacologic aids to facilitate crew rest.
In response to mission imperatives, transport aircrews must often sleep at inappropriate circadian times resulting in inadequate sleep. This study was undertaken to determine whether either melatonin or zopiclone could facilitate early circadian sleep, and to assess whether either of these medications would result in a psychomotor performance decrement which would preclude their use in aircrew. ⋯ Both zopiclone and melatonin improved sleep relative to placebo. After sleep inertia, performance recovered to pre-sleep levels for all tasks and was sustained at that level throughout the balance of the testing period. There was no impact of melatonin or zopiclone on performance measures compared with placebo.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Nov 2001
Human error analysis of commercial aviation accidents: application of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification system (HFACS).
The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is a general human error framework originally developed and tested within the U.S. military as a tool for investigating and analyzing the human causes of aviation accidents. Based on Reason's (1990) model of latent and active failures, HFACS addresses human error at all levels of the system, including the condition of aircrew and organizational factors. The purpose of the present study was to assess the utility of the HFACS framework as an error analysis and classification tool outside the military. ⋯ These results demonstrate that the HFACS framework can be a viable tool for use within the civil aviation arena. However, additional research is needed to examine its applicability to areas outside the flight deck, such as aircraft maintenance and air traffic control domains.