PILOTS flying long hours have five times as many accidents towards the end of the flight as they do at the beginning. A link between long hours and accidents has long been suspected, but a study by the US Federal Aviation Administration shows a sharp increase in accidents when pilots have been flying more than 10 hours.
The rules governing pilots’ hours vary from country to country. In the US pilots are not allowed to fly for more than 30 hours in 7 days. In the UK the limit is 55 hours – with a maximum flying time in any single session of 13 hours. Some…
