How Pilots Rest & Sleep On The Boeing 777-300ER

Did you know that the two aviators sitting at the primary controls of a Boeing 777-300ER may not be the same crew members who performed the takeoff hours earlier? Suspended directly above paying passengers in the forward cabin ceiling, off-duty pilots sleep in complete darkness inside an isolated loft module. This hidden space lets commercial airlines stretch twin-engine range across vast oceanic voids, but managing human fatigue at six miles (9.7 kilometers) above the earth is far more complicated than pulling down a window shade.