Study of US air-traffic controllers shows lack of sleep, fatigue

Washington

US AIR-traffic controllers report high levels of chronic fatigue from schedules that require they work through the night, and aviation regulators need to take steps to limit the potential safety hazard, a federal study concluded.

Of controllers who made safety errors on duty, 56 per cent reported that fatigue contributed to their mistakes, according to the study released on Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Controllers averaged only 3.25 hours of sleep on days that they worked overnight, the 2012 study found.