Developing a fatigue questionnaire for Chinese civil aviation pilots

Abstract

Objective. To assess the fatigue risk is an important challenge in improving flight safety in the aviation industry. The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive fatigue risk management indicators system and a fatigue questionnaire for Chinese civil aviation pilots. Methods. Participants included 74 civil aviation pilots (all males). They finished the questionnaire in 20 min before a flight mission. Estimation of internal consistency with Cronbach's α and Student's t test as well as Pearson's correlation analysis were the main statistical methods. Results. The results revealed that the fatigue questionnaire had acceptable internal consistency reliability and construct validity; there were significant differences in fatigue scores between international and domestic flight pilots. Also, some international flight pilots, who had taken medications as a sleep aid, had worse sleep quality than those who had not. Long-endurance flights across time zones caused significant differences in circadian rhythm. Conclusions. The fatigue questionnaire can be used to measure Chinese civil aviation pilots’ fatigue, which provides a reference for a fatigue risk management system for civil aviation pilots.