Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Fatigue
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Human Factors
For some reason; this company is building pairings that violate their own policy on safety and fatigue. This is a relative new practice and is unprecedented in terms of forcing unsafe human factors on the pilots.I spoke to a scheduler about this and was told; 'well; you're legal for it'. I tried to explain that being legal was not the point of my phone call. Being safe and fit for duty was.These red eyes built into the middle of a pairing are unsafe. That's a strong word but 100% accurate.I just finished one of these and have never been so exhausted in my career. I had every intention of calling off 'too fatigued to fly' on the last day of the pairing. But; as it turned out I was in a hotel that was well designed for daytime sleep and I got three hours which allowed me to finish my trip while maintaining an adequate degree of safety. Had that not been the case I positively would have called off fatigued.Dangerous fatigue reoccurred on the drive home from the airport. I nodded off three time (split second) while driving. I pulled over and napped in a parking lot. This all happened as the direct result of the construction of this pairing. But it's not unique. There are many pairings that now have red eye legs in the middle. These pairings are built looking only at legalities and ignore all human factors. Inadequate rest has residual effects and cause mistakes to be [made] in the airplane. Even if they are small ones; like missing a radio call; they are the direct result of fatigue.Each pilot handles the decision individually. Unfortunately for me; I made the incorrect decision and kept pressing on when I know I should have called off 'too fatigued'. That's a tough call to make for a professional pilot. [On this assignment] the first leg was an evening leg to [our destination]. We arrived at the hotel at XA:30 EST only to learn the hotel restaurant and bar were closed for renovation. We were hungry so my FO (First Officer) and I left the hotel to find a restaurant a small distance away. We returned a little after XC:00 EST [early morning].The construction noise started at XG:30 AM local and lasted continuously until XS:00 local. After two hours I called the front desk and spoke to the manager on duty. I explained we needed to sleep during the day but he replied there was nothing he could do. The hammering and saws continued non-stop until after our departure time for the red eye leg.We flew [two more legs] and landed at XE:07 AM EST. When wheels touched down we had been awake for nearly 29 hours without opportunity to sleep. We both discussed calling off too fatigued but decided to try to force some rest. We were expecting street noises to be a problem but the new hotel is actually perfect for daytime sleep and we got through it. I don't know why but there are times when being overtired actually interferes with sleeping. I got 2.5 hours of sleep and my FO reports he got 6 hours. We departed that same day at XR:25 local for two legs getting back to [home base] after midnight.Although this is a specific case; the general point I am making is that these red eyes built into the middle of a pairing are unsafe. They violate company policy as stated in the [company manuals and training courses]; and they force the pilot into a tough decision when inserting the Fit for Duty prompts; a federal requirement. And scheduling says you are FAR 117 legal. They have no clue how these impact the body.Falling asleep at the wheel on the drive home has gelled the safety issue in my mind and caused me to pledge to myself that I will never do this again. It may not be convenient for company if I call off [fatigued] but next time I am faced with these circumstances there will be no decision to be made because the decision has already been made. Safety first.
A320 Captain reported extreme fatigue resulted from his three day assignment that included a 'red eye' leg on day two.