Pilot Crash Pads: ABC News investigates pilots and sleep deprivation risks

ABC News reported on the safety risks linked to pilots who fly long hours without an adequate amount of sleep.

Some pilots sleep sitting up in chairs to catch extra shut-eye between flights while others try to take advantage of "crash pads," double beds stacked 24 to a room in the airport.

According to Motley Rice aviation lawyer and former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo, "You can't get a good nights sleep with people coming and going, this [crash pads] is actually better than what a lot of people have to endure."

Because pilots operate in a cockpit full of complex, technical equipment and must be fully alert to effectively respond to potential emergency situations, sleep deprivation can be serious. Accidentally falling asleep or not functioning at full capacity leaves more room for mistakes and puts at risk the lives of both the pilots and the hundreds for whom they are responsible once in flight.

Read more about pilot sleep deprivation, and view the full ABC news report in The Huffington Post.

Read more about how Motley Rice aviation attorneys work to protect passengers and the safety and security of the traveling public.