B767-300 and 300 ER
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human-Machine Interface; Fatigue
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Aircraft; Company Policy; Human Factors
During my [central US mainland]-RJAA deadhead; I slept twice; both under 4 hours. Not restful sleep; as I am 6'5'; trying to sleep in a seat versus a bunk. In particular; the footrest is inadequate for someone my size; and I can't properly elevate my legs during sleep. Arrived in RJAA in the morning; tired despite two naps. Took a brief nap after arrival; and after lunch; got a long sleep in; but not at the time I had wanted it. Woke up at 9 pm local. Awake until noon the next day; slept 4 hours until wake-up. Felt rested but knew I would need a nap enroute. Both other crew members advised that they were fully rested; so I elected to take first break. It is extremely challenging to get good rest on board the airplane; due to the complete lack of a crew rest area; but we do the best we can. Had to request fresh blankets/pillows prior to departure as they had not been provided - this should be part of the pre-departure servicing on any long-haul flight. At cruise; I did my best to create an adequate sleep environment; as the company has done nothing to improve the facilities on this plane in the two years it's been in service. This requires pulling out all three jumpseats; shoving meal trays between the seats and filling the gaps with extra blankets/pillows to create somewhat of a lie-flat surface (another reason to provide us with more blankets/pillows). Had a good nap but could've used more sleep. Captain woke me up to take his rest period. Swapping out involves crew members jumping over the extended jumpseats to get to the lav (which is blocked when someone is sleeping; and we would prefer not to wake a sleeping crew member but on occasion have no choice). It's also difficult to access the galley freely when someone is sleeping; and as a result; crews wait longer than they would normally to use the bathroom or get a meal; as we know how critical a rest period can be. I took over for the captain and had to dodge thunderstorms at night over the equator; as well as deal with poor communications. CPDLC was terminated south of Guam and we were unable to contact Port Moresby by HF or VHF for a considerable amount of time; likely due to the electrical activity of the storms in our path. Once the captain woke up; the other First Officer (FO) took his place and I took his seat. I noticed toward the end of the flight; I was yawning and beginning to feel drowsy. The sun was coming up but fortunately at this point; workload was light. The other FO resumed his duties prior to descent and we landed normally. It's worth noting that both the captain and other FO both reported being fully rested; having good sleep immediately prior to wake-up; and yet the both needed naps to complete the flight. The lack of a crew rest area on this airplane is totally unacceptable for the type of flying it's currently doing. A 10-hour; overwater; ETOPS flight; at night; typically with challenging thunderstorm activity mid-flight; combined with poor communication with ATC; requires that we all be at the top of our game. Too many things can go wrong with 'rest' enroute - we're not separated from the cockpit in any way; and while trying to sleep; we often block access to the lavatory or the galley; which impacts the full alertness of the operating crew. I've written a fatigue report on this airplane before. It remains open because the company is 'studying options' for crew rest. The airplane has been in service for two years now. How about we try something besides the configuration it's been in since we took delivery?
A B767-300ER First Officer addressed the continued problem of inadequate flight crew rest facilities on his company's fleet.