A unique and revolutionary aviation training tool, available to everyone on
the Internet, is making general aviation safer than ever by helping pilots
manage fatigue.

The interactive, online General Aviation Education and Training Module
provides information for general aviation pilots about how to manage
‘alertness’ issues during flight operations. The Fatigue Countermeasures
Group at NASA Ames Research Center, in California’s Silicon Valley, created
the module to mitigate incidents and accidents due to fatigue. Dr. Melissa
Mallis of NASA Ames is the project’s principal investigator.

“This easy-to-use, hands-on module is designed for people in complex
environments, facing challenging schedules, yet seeking to enhance safety,”
said Ray Oyung, a senior research associate in Ames’ Information Sciences
and Technology Directorate.

The primary audiences for this online training are commercial and general
aviation pilots, but the training also can be beneficial to aviation
managers, mechanics, medical flight crews and law enforcement personnel.
Topics discussed during the training include causes of fatigue and
strategies to help manage it, the importance of sleep, factors associated
with sleep loss, sleepiness, circadian rhythms and signs of fatigue.

The training module can be completed in 40 minutes, but it also is broken
down into segments for shorter, more tailored and recurrent viewing
sessions. The system requirements to complete training on the Internet are
a Macromedia Flash 5 Player and Netscape Navigator, version 3.0 or higher.

The Web-based version of the training was created to reach more people,
with a focus on general aviation pilots who may not have easy access to
this type of information. Fatigue countermeasures training previously was
available only at two-day workshops conducted at NASA Ames and attended
heavily by the commercial airline community.

“This valuable training is meant to be spread and shared with others to
increase safety — everywhere, for everybody, at all times,” said Oyung.

The NASA Ames Fatigue Countermeasures Group was created in 1980 in response
to a congressional concern about safety in aviation related to flying long
or rapidly recurring flight segments and the resultant crew fatigue. Since
that time, NASA Ames researchers have conducted studies in a variety of
full-mission flight simulations, aviation field studies and space-related
research.

Since1993, NASA Ames researchers have conducted 34 two-day workshops with
nearly 700 attendees and 240 organizations from 21 countries. Development
of the General Aviation Education and Training Module started in 1999.

To access the online training, visit:

http://human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/zteam/fcp/WebGA-ETM.intro.html

More information about the NASA Ames Fatigue Countermeasures Group is
available at:

http://human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/zteam/