For those of you who think the FAA is all about safety......

[Guest CRJ700FO]

It appears the FAA has learned from airline management on how to put the squeeze on its poor workers. I mean who cares if NASA studies have shown 10 minute catnaps in a cockpit would be beneficial........FAA Tells Controllers No More Naps During Breaks Sat, 09 Sep '06Resting Workers Face 10-Day SuspensionsIn a move many air traffic controllers call ill-advised in the wake of circumstances surrounding the crash of Comair Flight 5191, the FAA has taken a tougher line recently with controllers who are caught napping during work breaks.The rule -- which states a controller who naps during break times could be suspended for up to 10 days -- isn't new. In the past, however, controllers at several towers and centers have been allowed to negotiate separate agreements with their supervisors, allowing them to rest while on break in an effort to insure they are more alert to deal with busier periods.That practice was overruled under the new contract imposed by the FAA, which went into effect September 2.Naps are seen by many controllers as necessary... especially in light of the revelation the controller on duty at Blue Grass Airport the morning of the Comair accident had slept for only two hours between working separate full-time shifts.In new rules enacted last Saturday, however, the FAA maintains naps can do more harm than good."Even though they're on break, they can be called back to work at any time," said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown, as quoted by the Associated Press. "If they had to be called back to work traffic and they had been sleeping, they would be groggy."Union representatives say the rules will have the opposite effect."It just seems ambiguous and punitive," said Dave O'Malley, union representative for a control center in Indianapolis. "The work itself requires you to rest and recoup between the sessions."During slow times -- especially overnight shifts -- controllers are allowed to go to a break room during times of inactivity -- where they could read, watch television... or until recently, sleep. Pagers worn by the controllers alerted them when they needed to resume duty.

[zfehr 1]

The FAA has had a long history of being devoid of common sense, usually reacting rather than being pro-active in many cases. It has taken the wonderful action by the AOPA and aviation writers such as Richard L. Collins to point out these knee jerk reactions for the folly they represent and push for more logical, well thought out solutions.

[Guest B52Drivr]

It's the aga old battle of the FAA trying to be the promoter of US air travel and also the enforcer of FAA regulations, some of which have nothing to do with common sense, fairness and well thought out logic.For the most part, the FAA is a joke at best with their pompas staturing and great bible of rules. The majority of FAA regs are intelligent and have a reason for being in existance, the ones brought about by a reaction to an already 'known' problem usually is to cover someone's butt and a knee jerk reaction at best. Talk about an orgazansation which despertly needs a house cleaning!Best,Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

[Datalink 26]

Personally I don't find napping to be good for performance or concentration. You need REM sleep to refresh the body and mind. A short nap will only take you away from the problems and workload for a short time, and before long feel the fatigue again.

[Guest CRJ700FO]

>Personally I don't find napping to be good for performance or>concentration. You need REM sleep to refresh the body and>mind. A short nap will only take you away from the problems>and workload for a short time, and before long feel the>fatigue again.NASA disagrees with you.http://humanfactors.arc.nasa.gov/zteam/fcp...istory-crs.html"This brief "NASA nap" appeared to act as an acute inflight operational safety valve and did not affect the cumulative sleep debt observed in 85% of the crew members. The Rest Group crew members were able to obtain sleep during the rest opportunity and this nap was associated with improved performance and alertness compared to the No-Rest Control Group. This was the first empirical test of a fatigue countermeasure conducted in an operational aviation setting that combined physiological, performance, and subjective measures."

[Guest jboweruk]

Ah but we only hear one side of the story. Why had that controller only had 2 hours sleep, we're not told that, if it was his fault should he not be sacked then? I mean, it's not like a normal job where we may only affect themselves or maybe a couple of others, in that though they affect thousands, and it's lives on the line not a fouled up PC or a couple of zeros on a bank roll.

[Guest CRJ700FO]

>Ah but we only hear one side of the story. Why had that>controller only had 2 hours sleep, we're not told that, if it>was his fault should he not be sacked then? I mean, it's not>like a normal job where we may only affect themselves or maybe>a couple of others, in that though they affect thousands, and>it's lives on the line not a fouled up PC or a couple of zeros>on a bank roll.ok john. why don't you work all morning. get an afternoon "rest" of 9 hours and then work all night. your bodies circadian rythm all fouled up and see how much "sleep" you get (without the aid of drugs).word is now that the controllers in LEX have been complaining for a long time before the crash of poor staffing conditions and even now are STILL complaining about them.

[aentwis 61]

>Personally I don't find napping to be good for performance or>concentration. You need REM sleep to refresh the body and>mind. A short nap will only take you away from the problems>and workload for a short time, and before long feel the>fatigue again.You try telling doctors that who work 24+ hour shifts. My girlfriend is a surgeon at a University Hospital in Germany and, when on call, takes every opportunity she can through the night to get an hour or two of sleep. She will get paged if she needs to go to theatre, which takes between 5 to 10 minutes from being paged. Doctors, like ATC, need to be alert while working, and are obviously responsible for the wellbeing of the patients with whom they come into contact. The short sleep breaks are better than fighting the fatigue throughout the entire shift...You are entitled to your opinion. It would appear though that in this case your opinion is not correct...@CRJ700FO: Good call there man!Andrew

[Guest Rockcliffe]

>Ah but we only hear one side of the story. Why had that>controller only had 2 hours sleepMaybe he was a flight simmer ;-)