Safety
Software may put to rest the crew-fatigue debate
The Centre for Human Sciences at British aerospace and defense research group Qinetiq has developed software that it says can assess and predict crew fatig

The Centre for Human Sciences at British aerospace and defense research group Qinetiq has developed software that it says can assess and predict crew fatigue for any given set of flight operations. The system for aircrew fatigue evaluation (Safe) has been produced with the support of the UK Civil Aviation Authority and is now undergoing operational evaluation by the agency and several leading airlines.

The hope is that the program, which is still being refined by Qinetiq scientists based at Farnborough in southern England, will provide an objective model for evaluating crew fatigue. Eventually, the intention is to enhance the model so that it can also quantify the effect of fatigue on accident risk.