Flight Attendant Fatigue: Literature Review, Schedule Analysis, and Incident Reports

A NASA Ames Research Center report commissioned by the FAA to study flight attendant fatigue. The report contains a literature review, an evaluation of actual vs. scheduled duty schedules, and an analysis of fatigue-related incidents from the ASRS and NTSB databases. It was authored by Thomas E. Nesthus and includes recommendations for further research and training.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between flight attendant duty schedules and fatigue based on schedule evaluations mentioned in the description
• Modeling fatigue and performance impacts using the three performance and fatigue models described in the report
• Reviewing fatigue-related incident patterns based on data from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and NTSB database
• Developing fatigue countermeasure training programs based on the report's recommendations concerning causes, consequences, and interventions

Strengths

• Report includes analysis from two major aviation safety databases: the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and the NTSB database
• Analysis is based on an evaluation of actual vs. scheduled flight attendant duty schedules
• Report applies three different performance and fatigue models to assess schedule impacts

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified

Provenance

Source

NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Group, commissioned by the FAA/CAMI

Collection Method

Literature review, schedule evaluation, and analysis of incident databases