Aeromedical Factors
Note: Because of the relative
short Taxiway D stub, the hold
markings are not SEQUENCED
in the “usual order” as one
would expect to see exiting
either runway.
D
35
4
35
D
Runway Safety Area for 35
Following landing, blue aircraft has been instructed to “hold short”
Runway 4. Blue aircraft is expected to hold at this position even if the
aircraft has not cleared the landing runway and remains inside the
safety area for Runway 35. Follow ATC instructions.
Medical Certificate
• Must possess valid and
appropriate medical certificate
to exercise the privileges of
your pilot certificate
Medical Certificate
• You are prohibited from
performing crewmember duties
while you have a known
medical condition that would
make you unable to meet the
standards for your medical
certificate
Personal Checklist
• I - Illness
• M - Medication
• S - Stress
• A - Alcohol
• F - Fatigue
• E - Emotion or Eating
Hypoxia
• Name four types of hypoxia.
Hypoxia
• Hypoxic Hypoxia
• Hypemic Hypoxia
• Stagnant Hypoxia
• Histotoxic Hypoxia
Hypoxia
• Hypoxic Hypoxia - Inadequate
supply of oxygen - altitude
• Hypemic Hypoxia - Inability of
the blood to carry oxygen Smoking - CO
Hypoxia
• Stagnant Hypoxia - Inadequate
circulation of oxygen - Heart
problems - shock
• Histotoxic Hypoxia - Inability
of the cells to effectively use
oxygen - alcohol - drugs
Symptoms
• Headache, drowsiness,
dizziness and either a sense of
well-being or belligerence
• Periphery of the visual field
turns gray
Symptoms
• Blue color in lips and
fingernails
• Unconsciousness
• Death
Hyperventilation
• Abnormal increase in the
amount of air breathed in and
out flushes from the lungs and
blood much of the carbon
dioxide needed to maintain the
proper degree of blood acidity
Hyperventilation
• Control breathing - breath into a
paper bag - talking, singing or
counting aloud
Symptoms
• Dizziness, tingling of the
fingers and toes, hot and cold
sensations, drowsiness, nausea
and suffocation
• Disorientation and painful
muscle spasms, followed by
unconsciousness
Carbon Monoxide
• Colorless, odorless and tasteless
gas
• Affinity of the hemoglobin in
the blood is greater for carbon
monoxide than oxygen
• Effects are cumulative
Carbon Monoxide
• Susceptibility increases with
altitude
• Aircraft heater work by air
flowing over the exhaust
manifold
Symptoms
• Feeling of sluggishness, being
too warm and tightness across
the forehead
• Followed by headache,
throbbing or pressure in the
temples and ringing in the ears
Symptoms
• Leads to severe headache,
weakness, dizziness and
dimming of vision
• Loss of muscle power,
vomiting, coma, death
Decompression Sickness
• Nitrogen changes from a liquid
to a gas and forms bubbles in
the bloodstream
• Wait at least 12 hours after a
dive not requiring a controlled
ascent
Decompression Sickness
• Wait at least 24 hours after a
dive requiring a controlled
ascent
Motion Sickness
• Caused by continued
stimulation of the tiny portion
of the inner ear that control
your sense of balance
Symptoms
• Desire for food is lost
• Saliva collects in your mouth
and you perspire freely
• Nausea and disorientation
• Headache and tendency to
vomit
Preventive Measure
• Open air vents
• Loosen clothing
• Supplemental oxygen, if
available
• Look outside the airplane
Preventive Measure
• Avoid unnecessary head
movement
• Land as soon as possible
Motion Sickness
• As a pilot do not take over the
counter medication, since they
can cause deterioration of
navigation skills and tasks
requiring keen judgment
Sinus Block
• Air pressure not able to equalize
between the sinuses and the
nasal passage
• Caused by respiratory infection
or nasal allergies producing
congestion
• Usually occurs during descent
Symptoms
• Excruciating pain in frontal
sinuses above each eyebrow or
in the maxillary sinuses located
in each upper cheek which may
make the upper teeth ache
• Bloody mucus may discharge
from the nasal passages
Ear Block
• Air pressure not able to equalize
between the ears and the nasal
passage by way of the
Eustachian tubes
• Caused by upper respiratory
infection
Ear Block
• Swallowing, yawning, using
Valsalva maneuver
Symptoms
• Severe ear pain and loss of
hearing
• Rupture of the ear drum
• Fluid accumulation in the
middle ear which can become
infected
Stress
• Life Stress Management
–Be knowledgeable about stress
–Take a realistic assessment of
yourself
–Take a systematic approach to
problem solving
Stress
–Develop a life style that will
buffer you from the effects of
stress
–Practice behavioral management
techniques
–Establish and maintain a strong
support network
Stress
• Cockpit Stress Management
–Avoid situations that distract you
from flying the aircraft
–Reduce your workload
–In an emergency, remain calm
Stress
–Maintain proficiency in your
aircraft
–Know and respect your personal
limitations
–Do not let little things bother you
until they build into big things
Stress
• Cockpit Stress Management
–If flying is adding to your stress,
either stop flying or seek
professional help to manage your
stress within acceptable limits
Illusions
• Can lead to spatial
disorientation
• Can lead to landing errors
• Often contribute to fatal aircraft
accidents
Illusions
• Leans - Correcting a banked
attitude which has been entered
too slowly to stimulate the
motion sensing system in the
inner ear
• Creates the illusion of banking
in the opposite direction
Illusions
• Coriolis Illusion - An abrupt
head movement in a prolonged
constant-rate turn can create the
illusion of rotation or
movement in an entirely
different axis
Illusions
• Graveyard spin - recovery from
a spin and create the illusion of
spinning in the opposite
direction. The disoriented pilot
returns the aircraft to its original
spin
Illusions
• Graveyard spiral - Losing altitude in
a constant rate turn. creates the
illusion of being in a descent with the
wings level
• The disoriented pilot will pull back
on the controls, tightening the spiral
and increasing loss of altitude
Illusions
• Somatogravic illusion - Rapid
acceleration during takeoff can
create the illusion of being in a
nose-up attitude
• The disoriented pilot will push
the aircraft into a nose-low or
dive attitude
Illusions
• Inversion illusion - an abrupt
change from climb to straight and
level flight can create the illusion
of tumbling backwards
• The disoriented pilot will push the
aircraft into a nose-low attitude,
possibly intensifying this illusion
Illusions
• Elevator illusion - An abrupt
upward vertical acceleration
caused by an updraft can create
the illusion of being in a climb
• The disoriented pilot will push
the aircraft into a nose-low
attitude
Illusions
• False Horizon - Sloping cloud
formations, an obscured horizon
and some patterns of ground
lights can create the illusion of
not being aligned correctly with
the actual horizon
• Leads to a dangerous attitude
Illusions
• Autokinesis - In the dark, a static
light will appear to move about
when stared at for several seconds
• The disoriented pilot will lose
control of the aircraft in
attempting to align it with the
light
Illusions
• Size-distance illusion - When
one stares at a point of light, it
may appear to approach or
recede rapidly
Illusions
• Reversible perspective - At
night, an aircraft may appear to
be going away from you when
it is actually approaching
Illusions
• Flicker vertigo - A flickering light at a
constant frequency may cause
dizziness, nausea and in extreme cases
convulsions and unconsciousness
• Sun shining in the propeller on
approach
• Change in power can help
Illusions
Leading to Landing Errors
Illusions
• Runway width illusions - A
wider-than-normal runway
creates the illusion that the
aircraft is lower than it really is
• Pilots level out too high and
land hard or overshoots the
runway
Illusions
• Runway and Terrain Slopes
illusion - An upsloping runway
creates the illusion that the
aircraft is higher than it really is
• The pilot will fly a low
approach
Illusions
• Featureless Terrain illusion Absence of ground features when
landing over water, snow or dark
areas creates the illusion that the
aircraft is higher than it actually is
• The pilot will fly a low approach
Illusions
• Atmospheric illusion - Rain on
the windscreen can create the
illusion of greater height. Haze
creates the illusion of being at a
greater distance. Penetration of
fog can create the illusion of
pitching up.
Illusions
• Ground lighting illusion - Lights
along a straight path, such as a road
can be mistaken for runway lights
• Bright runway lights and approach
light systems can create the illusion
of less distance to the runway.
Vision
• Vision is the most important
sense for safe flight.
• Daytime scanning - series of
short, regularly spaced eye
movements not to exceed 10o
observed for at least one second
Vision
• Night time - use offset viewing
and scan slowly
• Avoid bright lights for at least
30 minutes prior to flight
Vision
• How is the eye constructed?
Vision
• Cones
• Rods
• Fovea
• Off Center viewing
• Adaptation
• Oxygen