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JetBlue Used Passengers as Guinea Pigs in Pilot Fatigue Experiment

October 22, 2006

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Thousands of JetBlue Airways passengers were unwitting participants in a test of pilot fatigue that was conducted last year without proper federal approval, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Pilots who had volunteered for the experiment flew for more than the eight hours per day that Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations permit. Some flew for as many as 10 to 11 hours, the newspaper said.

The flight crews were fitted with devices that supposedly measured their alertness and the airline says a spare pilot was always on board in case one of the crew members became too tired to remain on duty.

A Cupertino, Calif., company called Alertness Solutions devised the test and had high hopes it would be able to sell the idea to federal regulators. On its Website, the company calls itself "a scientific consulting firm that translates knowledge of sleep, circadian rhythms, alertness, and performance into practical strategies that improve safety and productivity in our 24-hour society."

But the FAA isn't impressed, arguing that JetBlue and Alertness Solutions did not have proper approval to conduct the test or to operate outside of FAA regulations governing in-flight hours.

According to the Journal's account, the airline and Alertness Solutions discussed the idea with the FAA's district office in New York, where JetBlue is based. But the idea was never taken to top officials of the FAA and they reacted angrily when they learned about it.

"We don't allow experiments with passengers on board, period," an FAA official told the Journal.

JetBlue is not alone in wanting to wring more flight time out of its pilots. All airlines are looking for ways to hold down labor costs but the JetBlue experiment is generating outrage among airline unions and consumer advocates. They note that pilot fatigue is increasingly cited as a factor in accidents by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Passengers "don't expect to be test pilots themselves" when they fly on a commercial airliner, said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.

In the end, JetBlue's attempt to move the issue of flight hours to the top of the FAA's agenda may have backfired. Embarrassed and angry at being kept in the dark, the FAA isn't likely to look kindly on any proposal to let pilots fly more hours, industry insiders said.

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