In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Sully Sullenberger said that there was no way he could have pulled off the "Miracle on the Hudson" without proper rest--and wants the airlines to ensure pilots get more rest.
Pilots can earn as little as $17,000 a year, and many who are based in expensive hub cities choose to live far away in more affordable towns and "commute" to the airports where they work.
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Sullenberger said their commutes cut down dangerously on limited resting time, and their low salaries mean many junior pilots cannot afford proper hotel rooms, meaning they resort to crash pads and sofa naps in crew lounges.
"We have to create a situation in which it's possible" for pilots to get a good, affordable night's sleep, he said. "We have to value this profession enough that people don't have to live out of a crash pad or a crew room."
This comes on the heels of an ABC News investigation that revealed an alarming number of pilots don't get nearly enough sleep--and that airport lounges and crashpads don't give them enough rest.
The investigation makes for horrifying reading. Several current and former pilots say they missed radio calls, entered incorrect readings and even fell asleep in mid-flight. Sully says that needs to change--now.
"The interesting thing about fatigue is, it's insidious. It's not always obvious that it's affecting you," he said. Beyond missing relatively small things, Sullenberger said a bigger concern is when fatigue affects a pilot's judgment.
"If on the last landing of the night, when the weather's bad, if you're approach isn't quite stabilized, and you need to go around and try again, you have to have that willingness, that energy to be able to say, 'This isn't right. I've got to act now,'" he said.
Apparently most pilots don't get that in a crashpad. Undercover video shows pilots spread out over couches and chairs in lounges, or sleeping in crashpads with bunk beds crammed into a room. Most passengers think their pilots are well-rested, but it's very possible it may be somebody who only got a few hours of sleep under cramped conditions.
Hopefully Congress will have the guts to do something--and not need a deadly crash to move things along.