Fatigue in Aviation: Management of Countermeasures, Sleep, Hypnotics and Stimulants

This paper presents a discussion about fatigue in aviation, causes of fatigue and effective fatigue countermeasures that enable aviators to continue to perform effectively even under demanding conditions when pilots must fly their aircraft without adequate sleep or rest. Extended military operations that require flying multiple missions under conditions of war or long haul missions that fulfill a need for global reach are examples of situations when aviators need effective fatigue countermeasures. In civil and commercial aviation, issues of safety and productivity under conditions of flat or reduced resource allocation present new challenges. Thus, an awareness of fatigue and fatigue countermeasures in aviation is of vital importance today, together with an effective fatigue countermeasure program.