This Is Your Captain Snoring

By Sidney Urquhart

The law forbids airline cockpit crews to sleep in flight, but weary pilots have been known to nod off on occasion. Crew fatigue is increasing because today's jumbo jets can remain airborne for 17 hours and longer. As a result, experts at NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration have decided that it's time to change the rules to allow for preplanned, in-flight napping by one crew member at a time. The pilots would then be refreshed for descent and landing. The rule change might also help discourage the use of pep pills or other drugs.

With reporting by DANIEL S. LEVY