Page 44 - Bundle for MF Final

Bates no 043

Summary
3. DEF summarises its primary contentions as follows:�
Sustainability of CL' s pre-accident working regime
(a) CL's pre-accident 5-4-5-3 roster was not working well with regard to his new
family unit with four children and a working mother, and also with regard to
spending time with CL's 2 children from his marriage. These issues feature in a
1
number of pre-accident documents , and was considered sufficiently significant to
.J be cited in the October 2015 email which concluded that CL was no longer fit to
{\'O I' fly. CL's claim at para 14 of his \\itness statement that the roster worked well for
•
(11)(\) " ll tiin, isgrssly unsustainable and raises concerns that the picture he aints in other
V regar e considered with caution.
(b) CL's fatigue reports evidence consistent dissatisfaction with the roster over a
2
sustained pre-accident period • Fatigue levels were such that he considered it a
safety concern, with him missing radio calls and developing physical symptoms of
stress/illness. The fact of pre-accident missed calls is important, given the
importance which CL's seeks to place on this happening post-accident. DEF's
expert evidence will also explain that missed calls are commonplace over very busy
airwaves, and this is not the dramatic issue that CL makes it out to be.
(c) By reference to (a) and (b) above, it is unlikely that CL would have tolerated or
maintained his pre-accident working regime, even absent the index accident. This
is likely to have required him to reduce his working hours and/or change his role
and/or retire early in any event. This is consistent with patterns seen in pilots of
advancing years. It is also consistent with the 21i10/15 email from CL's Flight
Operations Manager, which in addition to headaches, dizziness, tinnitus and
inability to sleep, cited CL's ''personal situation andfatigue", CL "struggling to
cope with the intensity of the EasyJet operation on the 5453 roster pattern",, noting
CL' s "young family and a complex personal life" culminating in reduced resilience

CL' s capacitv to have continued working

(d) CL returned to work between October 2014 and October 2015. During that
period he was able to continue to meet his obligations as a pilot, passing all tests
required of him.
(e) Post-accident fatigue reports during this period reveal a similar pattern to the pre­
accident position. Similar issues relating to fatigue and the 5-4-5-3 roster are
raised.

: See 8/4/13 Meeting Notes seeking a roster change to free up more weekends to spend more time with CL's
children and/or to help resist attempts to move them to Ireland.
2 Issues raised by CL pre-accident included: "nearly crashed my car"; "sofety ... ot risk"; "really tired"; "fatigue";
"need to take a safety view on rostering"; "going to work could affect safety"; "found it difficult to concentrate,
stay awoke and missed several radio calls" (13/9/12); "nosebleed when I have been run down and extremely
tired"; "extremely tired, very difficult to concentrate"; "not safe to come in and operate another long flight";
and repeated references to rostering issues.