This speculation has sparked a nationwide question. Should pilots be permitted to take in-flight naps?
We're looking at Wired Magazine, Good Morning America, KSTP News, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.
A federal investigation into the cockpit’s audio recordings is ongoing. Meanwhile, travelers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport shared their reaction with Minneapolis’s ABC station, KSTP.
“Whatever goes on to overshoot a destination sounds just crazy.”
“A conversation, that’s not an excuse to me. I think that’s irresponsible.”
“I guess I’m not terribly surprised.”
If the pilots did in fact doze off, it wouldn’t be a first. In 2008, airline captains fell asleep at the controls for 18 minutes on a journey from one Hawaiian island to another.
Wired Magazine notes that federal regulators have already discussed policies that would permit pilot naps.
"In the mid-1990s, the FAA and the Air Line Pilots Association agreed to the idea of controlled napping in a broader revision of fatigue rules. But high-ranking political appointees at the Department of Transportation stripped out the language over fears of negative political fallout and ridicule."
Wired says carriers outside the U.S., like British Airways and Qantas let one pilot at a time catch some shut-eye, but the FAA hasn’t allowed this to be the case for U.S. airlines.
Good Morning America highlights the perspective of one former airline pilot.
“They’re afraid of letting the door open to this because they think they can’t control it, but in fact it’s exactly the opposite. If they do open the door to this and say we need a plan and say if you as a captain know that you’re both tired, come up with a plan and stick with it. That’s a far more safe methodology for doing it than just saying, 'you boys be careful out there and don’t go to sleep.'”
USA Today reports that NASA conducted research and enforced its own napping policy more than two decades ago.
“It found that pilots were more alert and performed better during landings when they were allowed to take turns napping during the cruise phase of flights. Other countries have adopted policies, the FAA has not.”
But the Wall Street Journal says a nap shouldn’t be the end-all answer.
“Safety experts caution that cockpit snoozing shouldn’t be used to extend pilot workdays or to replace planned sleep in aircraft rest areas.”
So, do you think the FAA should allow pilots to take in-flight naps?
