Aeromedical Factors

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Aeromedical Factors
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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.
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.
Runway Safety Area for 35
RunwaySafetyArea for 4
D
35
4
35
4
D
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Medical Certificate

• Must possess valid and appropriate medical
  certificate to exercise the privileges of your
  pilot certificate

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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

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Personal Checklist

• I - Illness
• M - Medication
• S - Stress
• A - Alcohol
• F - Fatigue
• E - Emotion or Eating

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Hypoxia

• Name four types of hypoxia.

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Hypoxia

• Hypoxic Hypoxia
• Hypemic Hypoxia
• Stagnant Hypoxia
• Histotoxic Hypoxia

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Hypoxia

• Hypoxic Hypoxia - Inadequate supply of oxygen -
  altitude
• Hypemic Hypoxia - Inability of the blood to carry
  oxygen - Smoking - CO

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Hypoxia

• Stagnant Hypoxia - Inadequate circulation of
  oxygen - Heart problems - shock
• Histotoxic Hypoxia - Inability of the cells to
  effectively use oxygen - alcohol - drugs

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Symptoms

• Headache, drowsiness, dizziness and either a
  sense of well-being or belligerence
• Periphery of the visual field turns gray

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Symptoms

• Blue color in lips and fingernails
• Unconsciousness
• Death

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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

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Hyperventilation

• Control breathing - breath into a paper bag -
  talking, singing or counting aloud

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Symptoms

• Dizziness, tingling of the fingers and toes, hot
  and cold sensations, drowsiness, nausea and
  suffocation
• Disorientation and painful muscle spasms,
  followed by unconsciousness

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Carbon Monoxide

• Colorless, odorless and tasteless gas
• Affinity of the hemoglobin in the blood is
  greater for carbon monoxide than oxygen
• Effects are cumulative

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Carbon Monoxide

• Susceptibility increases with altitude
• Aircraft heater work by air flowing over the
  exhaust manifold

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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

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Symptoms

• Leads to severe headache, weakness, dizziness and
  dimming of vision
• Loss of muscle power, vomiting, coma, death

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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

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Decompression Sickness

• Wait at least 24 hours after a dive requiring a
  controlled ascent

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Motion Sickness

• Caused by continued stimulation of the tiny
  portion of the inner ear that control your sense
  of balance

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Symptoms

• Desire for food is lost
• Saliva collects in your mouth and you perspire
  freely
• Nausea and disorientation
• Headache and tendency to vomit

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Preventive Measure

• Open air vents
• Loosen clothing
• Supplemental oxygen, if available
• Look outside the airplane

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Preventive Measure

• Avoid unnecessary head movement
• Land as soon as possible

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Ear Block

• Swallowing, yawning, using Valsalva maneuver

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Symptoms

• Severe ear pain and loss of hearing
• Rupture of the ear drum
• Fluid accumulation in the middle ear which can
  become infected

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Stress

• Life Stress Management
• Be knowledgeable about stress
• Take a realistic assessment of yourself
• Take a systematic approach to problem solving

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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

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Stress

• Cockpit Stress Management
• Avoid situations that distract you from flying
  the aircraft
• Reduce your workload
• In an emergency, remain calm

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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

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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

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Illusions

• Can lead to spatial disorientation
• Can lead to landing errors
• Often contribute to fatal aircraft accidents

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Illusions

• Size-distance illusion - When one stares at a
  point of light, it may appear to approach or
  recede rapidly

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Illusions

• Reversible perspective - At night, an aircraft
  may appear to be going away from you when it is
  actually approaching

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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

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Illusions

• Leading to Landing Errors

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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Vision

• Night time - use offset viewing and scan slowly
• Avoid bright lights for at least 30 minutes prior
  to flight

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Vision

• How is the eye constructed?

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Vision

• Cones
• Rods
• Fovea
• Off Center viewing
• Adaptation
• Oxygen