Ask yourself this: Whom would you prefer at the controls of your plane on a stormy night, a pilot who smoked a joint three days ago, or one who had six hours of sleep prior to a 13-hour workday in which he's performed half a dozen takeoffs and landings? The first pilot has indulged in a career-ending toke; the second is in full compliance with the rules. I have to assume that the FAA realizes the foolery of such enforcement policies, but it nonetheless chooses to put its resources into drug testing and other politically expedient issues. Meanwhile it procrastinates, performing study after study and poring over data from NASA circadian rhythm experiments in an attempt to answer one of the world's most perplexing questions: Is exhaustion a detriment to job performance?
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http://www.airliners.net/photo/Northwest-Airlines/Boeing-747-451/081654…
So that's why pilots have fitness requirements. I was wondering.
I guess it's simply overwork, as in any job (especially lorry drivers). But as it may affect safety and security of the pilots themselves and their passengers, it should be taken care of. As a psychologist I can say that tests to get the pilot licence isn't easy at all both psychically and physically, so only the best can pass it through. But even thay are just human so all those factors as stress, cold or fatigue can distract them. Beeing pilot means bearing great responsibility.
I hope that their employers remember it well.