Study: 54% of pilots suffer from daytime sleepiness

In a recent survey, 358 of the 542 Indian pilots who participated in it, or 66% of the respondents, said they had fallen asleep without "planning" - that is, without the consent of the other cockpit crew member or had experienced microsleep episodes on duty.

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The survey covered pilots from the civil aviation industry engaged in regional, domestic and international operations and measured their fatigue levels on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. "Based on their responses, it was found that about 54% of the pilots suffer from severe excessive daytime sleepiness while 41% pilots suffer from moderate daytime sleepiness," said the survey carried out by NGO Safety Matters Foundation.

It explains why 66% of the pilots experienced microsleep or had unintentionally fallen asleep, said the survey.