They sleep eight to a room in cramped apartments that can get so out of control that they’d put a frat house to shame — making getting a good night’s rest harder than flying a jet.
But it’s just a day in the life for hundreds of pilots who fly out of city airports and spend their nights in dingy Queens crash pads crammed with up to 20 beds.
Crew members for several major airlines told The Post they often get no more than four hours of sleep before their shifts.
Some rented apartments in Kew Gardens and Jackson Heights have rooms stuffed with as many as four bunk beds. Cash-strapped pilots, mechanics and flight attendants pay as little as $125 to $260 per month to stay there.
Some are co-ed havens for sex and parties, while others are home to a constantly rotating cast of characters trying to catch some shut-eye before takeoff.
“Too bad MTV’s ‘The Real World’ never paid us to videotape it all,” said Terry, a United Airlines flight attendant who runs two crash pads.
One pad infamous for its parties is the white, three-story Audley House on a picturesque street in Kew Gardens.
“It’s a frat house on a Friday night,” said Pippy, a flight attendant. “It’s all pilots who are single, divorced or about to be divorced.”
Pippy said she used to run three crash pads of her own but quit because of the drama.
“You have people who think they can sneak their girlfriend or boyfriend in and have sex in a twin bunk bed with other people sleeping in the room,” she said.
The carnival atmosphere can lead to increased pilot fatigue — a factor that investigators believe played a role in the Feb. 12 crash of a Colgan Air flight near Buffalo that killed 50. The FAA is contemplating recommendations to change rules on the mandatory rest period by Sept. 1.
“What[ever] they do on their off hours, we recommend that they get sleep. We can’t demand that, obviously,” said FAA spokesman Hank Price.
United Airlines and JetBlue declined to comment, and Delta did not return calls. American Airlines spokesman Ned Raynolds said: “We’re not aware of any conditions such as you describe.”