Fatigue; Confusion; Situational Awareness
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
Company Policy; Procedure
My symptoms are mental fog; muscle exhaustion and irritability. I do not believe that I was safe to begin or accept this trip assignment after completing 78 hours of flying in just 18 total days. I started this stretch of work days on April [2015] first flying to Asia on a 4 day. After a reasonable 3 days off; I started a Middle East 4 day pairing. After 2 days off; I was assigned to return to Asia on another 4 day trip. I had one day left of reserve the following day. I do commute to home; however; it is only a 1.5 hour flight and I had no problems making any of my flights to or from home during this stretch of time. And the last night before I was assigned this trip I made it home by XA00. I was exhausted but felt a little more jet lagged and beaten up than on my other previous trips but felt that was normal since I had progressively continued to fly with shorter time off throughout the month to recuperate from crossing time zones. I went to bed at a reasonable hour. Crew scheduling called my phone at roughly XF30 (I only know this because my phone showed the caller id and the time stamp). I never heard the call. The next morning I awoke to another call by crew scheduling at XJ30. The call was informing me that I was assigned to a 5 day trip to Europe after a deadhead. I woke up and my head was buzzing. I felt completely incapable of doing anything which required mental concentration. Initially I did not refuse the trip. I started trying to put things together; simple things like packing before the trip; doing laundry; and organizing my travel bag with my iPad and chargers and that kind of stuff. Nothing seemed to make any sense. I walked around aimlessly without the ability to concentrate or think coherently. I was incapable of mentation. It was when I realized this that I contemplated calling in fatigue. How did this happen? I have never been assigned to trips like this. So I called the scheduler. I asked him how this was even possible after 78 hours in 18 days? Why am I the guy you called? I went to the bottom of the [call] list as soon as I returned from Asia. FAR Part 117 has actually made me become a much more 'tired' pilot. I'm not really sure who tested the waters with these new regulations before they were implemented but they were dead wrong on how it effects pilots. As an international pilot; I have no interest in acclimating to different time zones. When you fly to Asia; a pilot does not want to be acclimated or start to acclimate to Asia time. Its 12 hours off of your normal circadian rhythm! Asian cities used to be 3 day trips. One had a relatively short overnight with the 3 day trip. When returning to the US it was easier to return to a US time zone. Now; and with the new regulations the longer overnight wears down a pilot because we start to acclimate; and then we return to our normal time zone; where we have to acclimate to our time zone again. Then; as if to add insult to injury; the it was decided that shortening the rest requirements at home base between trips would be beneficial to pilot rest. I don't understand the logic of this decision.
A Pilot reported the new FAR 117 Regulations permit companies to schedule pilots in such a way as create more fatigue than previous regulations.