Flight illusions and decision making

What systems does your body use to orient you in space? Which ones dominate in VFR or IFR flight?

Visual (eyes), somatosensory (muscles and skin feeling the effect of gravity), vestibular (inner ear perceiving balance). In VFR, visual dominates and usually eyes and body agree, but in IFR the eyes are removed and illusions can occur

What is “the leans” illusion

quickly coming out of a bank can feel like you are banking in the opposite direction. This may cause you to bank back to the original direction on accident

What is the coriolis illusion

abrupt head movement during a turn can feel like you are moving around a completely different axis, causing you to put yourself in an unusual attitude. To avoid this, avoid extreme head movements especially in IFR, and find a method of scanning instruments that minimizes head movements

what is a graveyeard spin

recovering from a spin in one direction can feel like spinning in the opposite direction, causing a return to the spin in the original direction

What is a graveyard spiral

being in a turn for long enough causes your body to not feel like it is turning anymore. If you start descending during that turn, it will feel like a straight and level descent, causing you to pull up, which tightens the spiral and increases altitude loss. Can lead to a total loss of control

what is the somatogravic illusion

a rapid acceleration during takeoff can feel like the nose is up, causing you to push the nose down into a dive. A rapid deceleration can feel like the nose is down, causing you to pull up into a stall

What is the inversion illusion

a change from a climb into straight and level flight can feel like tumbling backward, causing you to push the nose down, which can increase the illusion even more

What is the elevator illusion

an abrupt vertical acceleration, like during an updraft, can feel like you are in a climb, causing you to push nose down. A downward acceleration, like a downdraft, feels like a descent, causing you to pull nose up

What is the false horizon illusion

sloping clouds, lights at night, or certain light patterns on the ground can cause inaccurate perception of the horizon, causing you to enter an unusual attitude

What is the autokinesis illusion

in the dark, a stationary light may appear to move when stared at for too long, you can lose control of the aircraft while trying to align it with the light

What is the runway width optical illusion

A narrower runway can make the aircraft look higher than it actually is, causing you to land short or hit obstacles on the way down as you come in too low. A wider runway can make it look like the aircraft is lower than it actually is, causing you to overshoot or level out high and land hard

What is the runway and terrain slopes optical illusion

an up-sloping runway or terrain can make it look like you are higher than you actually are and you will come in too low. Down sloping runway or terrain can make it look like you are lower than you actually are, making you come in too high

What is the featureless terrain optical illusion

an absence of ground features like when over water or snow or in the dark can make it look like the aircraft is higher than it actually is, causing you to come in too low

What optical illusion happens with rain

it can make it look like you are higher than you actually are due to the horizon seeming lower, causing you to come in too low

What optical illusion can haze create

it can make it look like you are a greater distance and height away from the runway, causing you to come in too low

What optical illusion does fog create

flying into fog can make it look like you are pitching up, causing you to pitch down and steepen your approach

What are the ground lighting optical illusions

Lights on a straight path like a road or train can be mistaken for runway lights. Bright runway lights may make it seem like you are closer to the runway than you actually are, causing you to come in too high. If the lights are too dim or if the surrounding terrain has too few lights, it looks like you are higher than you actually are and you will come in too low

How might you prevent falling for optical illusions?

Look at charts before the flight to gain info about the terrain, slope, and lighting before the flight. If possible, inspect unfamiliar airports from the air before landing. Make frequent references to the altimeter and PAPI/VASI lights

What are some general risk assessment rules for pilots?

Accept no unneccesary risk

do not let anyone else (ATC and passengers included) make risk management decisions for you

List the hazardous attitudes that pilots may fall victim to

anti-authority- not liking to follow rules or being told what to do

impulsivity- acting quickly without thinking first

invulnerability- believing accidents can’t or won’t happen to you

macho- trying to prove yourself or taking risks to impress others

resignation- believing you cannot do anything to make a difference in what happens to you

What’s a good checklist to use to assess flight risks?

Pilot- are you ready in terms of currency, proficiency, physical and emotional condition?

Aircraft- are you familiar with it? Does it have the right equipment? Can it use the planned runways? Weight and balance good? Enough fuel? Airworthy?

enVironment- what is the weather and terrain like? What are the runway conditions at the airports you will use? Any emergency backup airports on the way? What airspace will you be going through, and are there any TFRs?

External pressures- are people pressuring you in any way, or are you pressuring yourself?

What are the main things you should assess for single pilot resource management?

5Ps: plan, plane, pilot, passengers, programming. Check over each at critical phases, like before stepping to the plane, before takeoff, midway through the flight or hourly, and before approach. Be proactive, like checking the weather conditions at the endpoint long before you get there, like in the middle of the flight