We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
BOTH PILOTS ON a British based airline fell asleep on the flight deck during a flight last month according to a report from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The incident occurred on 13 August with the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) saying that it comes ”no surprise” to them after repeated warnings to the CAA.
The events came to light as a result of a freedom of information request to the CAA which was reported in several media outlets. The captain and co-pilot are believed to have agreed to alternate sleeping while the plane was on autopilot before one of them awoke to find the other asleep. It is not known how long the plane had been flying unsupervised.
The CAA say they have chosen not to identify the airline involved.
BALPA say they have repeatedly warned the CAA about the risk of pilots falling asleep due to long shifts and a lack of sleep. The pilots’ group say they have even written to the UK’s aviation minister Simon Burns MP about the risks who they say replied that “this is not a reported flight safety issue.”
BALPA’s general secretary Jim McAuslan said that tiredness is the biggest challenge faced by British pilots:
“As the regulator responsible for UK flight safety the CAA has been far too complacent about the levels of tiredness among British pilots and failing to acknowledge the scale of the underreported problem.”
The group point to a vote in the EU parliament next week which they say includes rules that permit a pilot to land an aircraft having been awake for 22 hours or more.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
But he’s NOT wrong here, RTE are bashing Rural Ireland for Climate hypocrisy while the air is 10 times cleaner in rural Ireland and it’s the complete opposite in Urban Ireland with serious traffic congestion and issues everywhere and the air is 20 times dirtier
@Luka Roche: Don’t be focused on what this guy says, he and his party will say anything to stay in power—right up to the moment the sea is lapping around their assess. What we need to focus on is the fact that he is part of the cabal that are currently running the place, and this is a very scary realisation..
I’m no Fine Gaeler, but he was 100% right.
@Dan Breen: “we are trying to achieve boosted beef sales “in the most environmentally friendly way”… Lol 100%
Seen that this morning on Byrnes show she was an absolute DEPLORABLE the TD was bang on…
@Jimmy Wallace: comments open. We’re not allowed to comment on illegal immigrants, politicians, Israel & Palestine, and Ukraine, but it’s open season on farmers. Shower of hypocrites.
Clare Byrne?
She’s another one….
Dublin jackeen stuff from Claire Byrne, everyone knows that RTE doesn’t go beyond the Pale. Sure climate change is a reality, but farmer bashing by RTE Dublin won’t help anyone.
@Sean Walsh: it’s not an us against the dubs issue, nobody in ‘the pale’ as you call it is too enamoured with Rte either, play the ball and stop showing your bigotry!
As a result of the farming practices on this island our inland waterways are destroyed . Farmers and their representatives couldn’t care less , it’s just about profit . He says any action to combat climate change/breakdown needs to be proportional , farming in ireland is the single largest polluter and this needs to be addressed.
@Ronan Meagle: I think local authorities pumping untreated human excrement into the rivers is being seriously unreported and in some instances pawned off as agricultural pollutants. The water coming from pharmaceutical plants is also very worrying. Farmers are low hanging fruit for politicians and media who are too lazy to look at other contributers.
@Helen Murphy: correct, but it doesn’t suit his agenda. The acknowledged biggest polluters in the country are the county councils, but they don’t get called out coz they’re not interfering with certain lifestyle choices. Farmers are an easy target for the robes and sandals jehovahs. And they don’t really seem to care that what they are asking for is the slaughter of up to 30% of agricultural animals in Ireland. The produce, which would have been done here under conditions which are the lowest carbon footprint on the planet, will be replaced with meat and dairy from Brazil and Argentina, and transported, which will multiply their carbon footprint by a factor of 4. These zealots should be executed instead of the innocent animals. Far less hot air to be heating up the planet.
@Joe Mckenna: Joe, 90% of Irish beef is exported. It would be possible to raise just enough beef to meet the demand from the Irish market.If you are arguing against beef exports and the possible importation of cheap Brazillian and Argentine beef then I think the green lobby could be happy with that.
It would cut the CO2 and drinking water pollution levels by 90% from the beef sector. Of course you won’t agree to this as farmers like everyone else believe that the more we buy the happier we are and let the climate go to hell.
We want to import all sorts of manufactured goods and the nation has to export an equal value of goods and services in order to import the same value otherwise there would be a financial crisis. As the government pays in subsidies almost the whole cost of producing beef for export it could legislate to roll down production and give farmers an easier life by continuing the subsidies to them without spending more money. Granted it would be harder to buy that 3 litre SUV, but that would be another benefit for the climate.
Isn’t it absolutely wonderful how all our “intelligencia” and urbanites are hellbent on destroying or shutting down our indigenous industry whilst at the same time insisting on increasing passenger numbers and activities at Dublin Airport. Naturally, RTE and it’s program presenters feel they are the untouchables in our society and they’ve demonstrated that notion effectively by refusing to hand over the “secret document” to the Dail Committee.
@liam: ‘intelligencia’… lol, good one.
Claire roasted him, it was glorious, I actually thought he was going to start crying.
@Michael o connor: Well indeed she did not roast him. She was just trying to drive home the RTE policy . ,– the George Lee theory ,– the doom and gloom man with the sad story . I just wonder who is paying these Gobs…..we to drive on this argument all the time .??.
@Eugene Comaskey: The “gobs” are simply asking for a bit of rational thought be generated on this issue. Farmers want things to stay the same in a fast changing world. Every year there are more floods and droughts world wide and the cost of dealing with the damage is going through the roof Farmers will never be a the back of the queue looking to be compensated for the flood damage that their own practises have a hand in causing. Guardian reports a US study today saying that the country suffers a climate change associated disaster costing over $1 billion (on average) every 3 weeks now. In the 1980′s it was every 4 months. Have Irish taxpayers deeper pockets to pay for our present and future climate related disasters?
Fair play to him RTE are an absolute digrace.
They have their agendas.but RTE will probably get away with their smear campaign against farmers.
If you deny being a climate change denier does that make you a climate change denier denier?
He sounded just like what he was, a sleveen lacky to agribusiness.
Be rest assured farmers the likes of larry goodman have your best interests at heart keep paying for his lobby group ;)
Without all this farming for export we would have forests. Anyway, at some point everything will have to have accurate labels for CO2. That will incl importing feed, production here, and export transport. Customers will decide this for you. Good luck farmers.
The good old IRA ,The bad old IRA ,The good IRA The bad IRA — Michael’s Martin’s IRA who murdered 6 RIC men in Clare — Gerry A’s IRA who murdered 6 Brits in Belfast ,The IRA ,eh..
Perhaps a Tribunal could sort this matter out.
When are we going to start vetting people coming into the country , rapi$ts and murderers handed 5 bedroom houses, time to wake up and protect the sons and daughters of Irish Citizens
Claire Byrne was simply asking for a bit of rational thought be generated on this issue. There was nothing extreme in her approach. If she had said that farmers want flood relief for the climate change related problem of extreme rainfall (at least 7% extra water vapour going into the atmosphere every decade) that they help produce then that would be controversial. Similarly if she had said that rural flood relief should come out of the beef subsidy or price support scheme. She said neither of these things. The problem is that farmers want things to stay the same in a fast changing world. They won’t. Every year there are more floods and droughts world wide and the cost of dealing with the damage is going through the roof.
Farmers will never be a the back of the queue looking to be compensated for the flood damage that their own practises have a hand in causing. The Guardian reports a US study today saying that the US suffers a climate change associated disaster costing over $1 billion every 3 weeks on average now. In the 1980′s it was every 4 months. Have Irish taxpayers deeper pockets than Americans to pay for our present and future climate related disasters?
Job done, when other media outlets are giving you free space on their platforms.
Can we say dillop
have your say