Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 240; Flight Crew Total 10000; Flight Crew Type 2000
Fatigue
Other Fatigue
Aircraft; Human Factors
I was one of two relief pilots on the first rest breaks of a mainland/Japan/mainland sequence. On both flights I attempted to get some sleep in the lower bunk of the pilot crew rest area and on both flights I was awakened several times by noise from the security barrier being attached/detached from the rest area sidewall as well as noise from the cockpit door opening/closing and noise from the forward lavatory toilet flushing. The poor design of the security barrier was a major contributing factor. The proximity of the pilot crew rest facility to the cockpit door and forward lavatory were contributing factors to my interrupted rest. When I returned to the cockpit for the second half of each flight I was fatigued and was fatigued for the remainder of the flight.
The reporter identified the aircraft involved as the B777-200. The flight crew rest facility is located in the front left of the main cabin and not; as in other airline fleets; above and to the rear of the flight deck. As a result all opening and closing of the cockpit doors; security gate; any use of the flight attendant jumpseat impact directly on the walls of the rest enclosure. The right forward lavatory is little more than a couple of feet removed from the area and the use of the flush system is clearly audible to resting pilots. The reporter believes it is almost literally impossible to achieve uninterrupted rest given these impediments and the lack of effective sound proofing.
An International Relief Pilot addressed his inability to get required sleep in the crew rest facility of his fleet due to noises associated with cockpit door; a nearby lavatory and the release and reattachment of the cockpit security door.