Fatigue, flying, plane accidents and plain accidents

Thankfully, I'm not a pilot, because if I was, I think I would have had to take the past week off work otherwise risk causing a plane accident. This is because every single night this week, one, or both, of my twin girls have woken at least once in the night before stirring very early in the morning, demanding my attention.

The thing is, I can't think why it's happening. I'm not feeding them anything unusual, neither is on medication, both are well-exercised and both seem perfectly happy.

I think I could take it if they were dejected and miserable. Things would be so much easier. I could just ask them to join me in slumping on the sofa while we wearily wait three hours for the sun to rise.

Instead they are stupidly happy and energised, running into my bedroom, jumping on the bed, covering me with ecstatic morning kisses and singing high-energy pop hits.

By the time I've packed them off and ready for school, I've already been awake for five hours and the thought of having to go get down to work is intolerable.

As it is, this week I've been very sensible and decided to only take the bus. I don't want my tiredness to result in drowsy inattention and cause a car accident, I'm too far-gone for the bicycle and walking may well result in the steady, soporific rhythm of my feet putting me to sleep so that by the time I realise where I am I've walked from London to Oxford.

Yes, although I've always aspired to a life of intrepid aviation, I'm just glad I'm not a pilot. After all, there are enough tired pilots anyway.

According to the British Airline Pilots' Association, four-fifths of pilots admit to having been fatigued while flying, clearly an alarming proportion. "It's across the board," a BALPA spokesperson said of the problem.

One really worrying aspect of this is the way tiredness is such a taboo subject between pilots and airlines. One-third say they believe they would be disciplined if they reported feeling tired. BALPA's chairman described fatigue as "the single biggest issue facing aviation today".

In fact, tiredness is already causing plane accidents and has been a factor in both passenger injury and death. It is believed to be behind 10 to 15 percent of all air accidents.

Thankfully there are a few brave pilots who are prepared to refuse to take to the skies. In 2007, one British Airways pilot refused to take off on his Delhi to London flight because of exhaustion, saying he had not had enough rest. I can't help but wonder if he has twins.

Can I claim?