According to the Daily Mail, between 43 and 54 percent of pilots in Sweden, the U.K., and Norway admitted in a survey to “involuntarily” falling asleep while in the cockpit.
Also from the article:
“A third of these said they had even woken to find their co-pilot was also asleep.”
Three Questions That Arise From This Story
1. Did any pilots involuntarily fall asleep while taking the surveys? Because we’re guessing the survey doesn’t count as “finished” if the survey-taker drifts off midway through, meaning even more pilots might be falling asleep in the planes!
2. Why are they “involuntarily” falling asleep in the first place? The series Dexter ended last night, so it’s not like a vigilante serial killer is injecting them with horse tranquilizer.
3. So these planes really do fly themselves, huh? If that’s the case, here’s an idea: let crying babies and toddlers fly the planes in the cockpit instead of the main cabin. Kids love grabbing steering wheels and sitting at Chuck E. Cheese’s video games pretending they’re driving, when they’re really just watching the screen flashing “insert token.” That seems to be enough experience to fly some planes! All aboard for Stockholm!