Fatigue among student pilots

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Fatigue is an important phenomenon in modern aviation. Despite the progress in research concerning fatigue among civil aviation and military pilots, fatigue in student pilots has remained unexamined. The aim of this study was to examine fatigue among ab-initio pilots. In this study, the fatigue model previously proposed and used in the literature is redesigned for ab-initio pilots.

METHOD: A 48-item questionnaire was applied. Factor analysis was performed using SPSS. The data were collected from 114 ab-initio pilots.

RESULTS: It was determined that 23% (N = 26) of the participants included in the study were women and 77% (N = 88) were men. When the license types of the participants were analyzed, it was seen that 11% (N = 13) had commercial pilot licenses (CPL; N = 80), 70% had private pilot licenses (PPL), and 18% (N = 21) had student pilot licenses (SPL). Results showed that seven performance factors (types of flight, training scheduling, crew composition, environment of the aircraft, types of accommodation, flight training-related issues, and biological issues) affect ab-initio pilots' fatigue on various levels.

DISCUSSION: The findings may help flight training organizations and ab-initio pilots take assertive preventive measures against fatigue.