Spatial Disorientation article in Sunday Age
 

From todays age

http://www.theage.com.au/news/nation...e#contentSwap1

Is this article designed to educate or scare the average punter. Perhaps they should have pointed out that by jettisoning the wings the problem is removed?



William Birnbauer
December 16, 2007

AS YOU prepare to fly off somewhere for Christmas, consider this: there is a chance your pilot once thought he was perched on the wing of his plane watching himself fly it.

Or, as happens more commonly, he may have believed the plane was pitching up or down when it was level or thought it was going straight when it was turning. He may have experienced what aviation doctors call the "knife edge" and "giant hand" illusions.

In the first, pilots sense that their aircraft is positioned precariously in space and extremely sensitive to the controls. The giant hand illusion is the opposite: pilots feel the plane is immovable in the air and unresponsive to controls — that a giant hand is holding it aloft.

These are some of the more bizarre manifestations of a potentially dangerous phenomenon known as spatial disorientation, which the United States Federal Aviation Administration says is the inability to tell which way is up.

In 1999 spatial disorientation (SD) was blamed for the plane crash in which John F. Kennedy jnr and his wife died in a night flight over water near Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts.

Almost every career pilot will experience some form of the phenomenon, says an aviation medicine expert, David Newman, who recently completed a study of SD and its role in accidents for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

"If a pilot flies long enough as a career, or even a hobby, there is almost no chance that he or she will escape experiencing at least one episode of SD," he says. "Looked at another way, pilots can be considered to be in one of two groups: those who have been disorientated, and those who will be."

International studies show that spatial disorientation was responsible for between 6% and 32% of major aviation accidents, and between 15% and 26% of fatal accidents.

A report by the former Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation, which examined night take-off accidents between 1979 and 1993, found that of the 35 accidents recorded, 15 involved spatial disorientation as a primary factor.

Ray Cronin, one of Australia's most experienced pilots and instructors, is only too aware of the risks. He estimates he has experienced SD half a dozen times over more than three decades in the industry. He says that when visual references disappear, such as occurs in cloud or at night, inexperienced pilots have only 20 seconds before losing control.

Mr Cronin, who owns Kestrel Aviation, said that without visual references pilots may not believe they were flying on their sides or were in a spiral dive — despite what their instruments showed.

"That's when you have this mental conflict and you break out into a sweat," he said. "It's the ultimate discipline. You've got to pull yourself together, and say the information in front of me is reliable."

Dr Newman told The Sunday Age that although less likely than with pilots, passengers could also experience SD, but they were usually preoccupied with meals or entertainment. Passengers may feel they are going straight when they are actually turning.

So why does SD occur? Dr Newman explains that humans normally can accurately determine which way is up thanks to three sensory systems most of us take for granted: sight, the balance organs of the inner ear (vestibular system) and what are colloquially known as "seat-of-the-pants" sensors.

These combine to feed information to the brain. With these we determine our position within fixed horizontal (the Earth's surface), and vertical (the force of gravity) co-ordinates. The visual system provides about 80% of the raw orientation data so that when it is dark, or the weather is bad, pilots rely on the remaining 20%, split evenly between vestibular and "seat-of-the-pants" sensors. The latter is a pressure sensor in our joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles and skin that tells the brain that we are upright.

The problem, says Dr Newman, is that these two complex systems are prone to illusions and misinterpretation. And none was designed to work in the air. Dr Newman's report describes numerous illusions that the industry has given descriptive terms, such as the graveyard spin, the leans, and the dark-night take-off or pitch-up.

Rare illusions such as the pilot watching himself flying from the wing-tip were associated with feelings of unreality and detachment.

"While seemingly bizarre, these illusions are generally associated with high-altitude flight, where the pilot has a relatively low-level workload. Under such fish-bowl conditions, the brain can wander and generate these strange illusions." While well recognised in aviation, most people were not aware of the condition, and that's not a bad thing, according to Dr Newman.

"Do we want passengers worrying that the pilots are going to get an illusion? I mean, people wouldn't fly if they thought it was going to happen," he said. "It's really the same style of problem as hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, which is just a function of going flying. We know how to deal with it."

Dr Newman said the prevalence of SD was underestimated. Pilots often were reluctant to report it in case they lose their licence. When pilots died in plane crashes, it was difficult to positively blame SD.

Lost in space
■Spatial disorientation happens when a pilot loses a sense of up and down, or is unable to correctly interpret aircraft attitude, altitude or airspeed.

■It usually happens when flying into bad weather. Low or no visibility may block out external visual horizon.

■When the pilot cannot see a horizon there is a "drift in the inner ear", which, if left uncorrected, can lead to the pilot turning the plane without realising it.

■Mistakes in the turn about any axis can build at a rate of 0.2 to 0.3 degrees per second.

■If the pilot is not trained to use gyroscopic flight instruments, these errors build to a point where the plane enters a steep diving turn known as a graveyard spiral.

■During the time leading up to and well into the manoeuvre, the pilot is not aware that he is turning, convinced all along that he is flying straight.

Who here thinks they would lose their license if they got the leans??? Who would bother reporting a case of spacial disorientation (given that it is a completely normal reaction of the human sensory system to the unnatural environment of instrument flight?

Why did they troop up to Mangalore to ask a pilot - The Age is right next to YMEN/YMML?

Can't wait for the next article on boogeymen.

........oh brother !!..........spare us please !!..........am wondering what all that IFR trainig was for where you are taught (amongst other things) to believe yr instruments when visual clues are not available, & like already said, there is the 'wing jettison' facility should all else fail; to get the job (of dying !!) over & done with quickly!:bored:

Sure they can quote numerous facts (fiction) & figures saying the dangers of this insidious effect but at the end of the day it's humans who fly in planes operated by humans & there in lies the risks. CFIT is a big one these days (probably 'cause it's more recognized these days than ever before ) with zillions spent on training but still it just happens, again 'cause we are human!
Nobody is denying that SD exists but it is manageable & therefore an acceptable risk.

Capt Wally:-)

why is this a big risk in airliner aircraft flying passengers? Aren't there 3 auto pilots flying the thing from 300' above?

if a pilot does feel SD what does he do? the auto pilot has the plane and the other pilot would be fine, and telling him its all good

It's easy
 

It's easy to fix. All you have to do is reset the altimeter so that it reads zero. Then you get out and go home.

SD extends beyond flying....
I have the leans right now :uhoh::uhoh:

Reminds me of the 'spin recovery procedure' sign in a bar somewhere.....
1.If spin commences, immediately apply full opposite eyeball.

2.Ease head forward slowly.

3. When rotation stops, centralise glass and refill!
:ok::ok::ok:

So nothing to do with being a VFR pilot in IMC then?:rolleyes:

Basic IF 101... trust your instruments. CASA licence requirements... X hours of IF in the aircraft.

Next time you're on an airliner and neither pilot up front has been instrument trained, well, it doesn't happen does it?

William Birnbauer, I'm fairly certain he's written a few other VERY POOR articles on flying, or other "news" in general.

I reckon I could be a journo today... how's this? [Items in these brackets are editors notes]

BLINK AND YOU MISS IT
by Cap'n Arrr [in the true journalistic style of the Great, Mystical and All-Round Excellent Journalist, William Birnbauer]

Scientific studies have proven that the average driver blinks up to 20 times a minute, with the potential to create a horrific accident involving a busload of orphans, a truck carrying a nuclear bomb AND cyanide, or even a schoolyard of bunny rabbits!

Dr Smithy McSmithson explains: "Well, yes when a person blinks they obviously can't see while their eyes are closed, but..." [cut off before explaining what he actually means]

So according to this highly experienced doctor, every time a driver blinks (especially an under 25 male) they are intentionally blocking out all vision of the road around them. You could be trying to cross the road as one of these hoons approaches the crossing!!!

"Hoon behaviour is a serious problem on our roads," says Police Superintendant John Smith. "We need to take action now to avoid any more horrendous incidents, and we are putting extra patrols out on the roads to help catch hoons" [SupInt talking about an unrelated matter, but lets not let the origin of quotes get in the way shall we?]

According to ATSB statistics, 100% of all drivers involved in collisions, including Bob McBogan, who hit a little old lady at such speed that she struck the substation, shorting out the entire western suburbs of Sydney with her false teeth, admitted to having blinked at some stage while driving.

The sociopathic drivers who blink while driving must be taken off our roads immediately! "It's only a matter of time," said some random guy on a completely unrelated topic. A matter of time indeed.

Blinking facts:

• If you blink, you cannot see while your eyes are closed.
• 100% of drivers involved in accidents admitted to blinking.
• 97% of all sociopathic killers have been observed blinking.
• Most of the pprune public think William Birnbauer should check his facts before publishing some sensationalist, bullsh** story on something covered in PPL Human Factors.
• Most jounalists are reluctant to report substantiated, real facts to the public, when bs makes it so much more interesting.

If you know of anyone who blinks while driving, contact The Age on 1800 THE AGE, or email us. More

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, don't we already know all this?

Not like this information is some spectacular break through.

'Low or no visibility may block out external visual horizon.'

Just another otherwise unemployable person who's been given a laptop.
Maybe oneday he'll lick enough balls to get a job with a current affairs program.

Oxymoron
 

Another definition of a moron using valuable oxygen..............

Journalistic Integrity!:}

Where is the important info
 

Cap'n Arrr

Bravo:D

I just wish I could be bothered to commit to my derision in similar fashion!

flying spike,

Quote:

---

Why am I learning all this blinking SD information when I still haven't been taught how to use the wing detach mechanism?

---

All in good time, stop being in such a hurry, the wing detachment module (WDM), is only taught as part of an integrated Advanced Handling course.

Its people like yourself who end up getting in trouble by using the wing detachment mechanism without proper training. When used carelessly the WDM can result in an asymmetric detachment, leading to an uncontrollable spin.

Book yourself in for Advanced Handling mate.

Advanced Handling?
 

With my tongue firmly in both cheeks (not a pretty picture) I think the only ones guilty of "advanced handling" are these cretinous journos! Besides, I am morally opposed to the term "disorientation". How are we going to offend our northern neighbours next?

"So nothing to do with being a VFR pilot in IMC then?:rolleyes:"

Correct, it was nothing to do with IMC. The JFK jnr fatal was in night VMC. He lost the horizon over the sea due to haze, and not being IFR trained, suffered a classic SD episode. The report stated that if he had tracked closer to the coast where many lights were visible, instead of direct over the water, he would have had sufficient visual reference and been ok.

This is gonna open a can of worms but.......

In my opinion if you have to rely on the AH and other instruments in order to maintain wings level due to then you are not in VMC and as a VFR pilot you should not be there :=

"then you are not in VMC and as a VFR pilot you should not be there :="

Practically I agree with you, but legally, show me where a low haze on the horizon is not VMC? The reason it killed JFK jnr was that it was at night. I bet there is not a single night rated pilot here with a decent number of hours who has not experienced a lost horizon in night VMC at some time, particularly over water.

"All in good time, stop being in such a hurry, the wing detachment module (WDM), is only taught as part of an integrated Advanced Handling course."

If I fly a biplane, do I need a special rating for the more complex wing detach procedure or will the standard one do?