The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a stern warning to airline regulators and companies: get pilots more rest, because fatigue is contributing to crashes.

The NTSB is urging the FAA (web|news) and the airline industry to use science, not politics or economics, when determining how much rest pilots require to perform safely.

Right now, pilots can work up to 16 hours a day, 8 of those in the air.

But industry insiders tell ABC 7/NewsChannel 8 news some airlines skirt those rules to save money, pushing pilots to the limit.

The NTSB says pilot fatigue has contributed to a number of recent incidents, including a 2004 corporate airlines crash in Kirksville, Missouri that claimed 13 lives.

Travelers have expressed concern about the possibility of flying with a sleep-deprived pilot. Passenger Kim Roberts argued, "They need to think, what is their mission? It should be transporting people safely from place to place."

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