Human Factors

What are the different types of hypoxia?

Hypoxic, hypiemic, histotoxic, and stagnant

Define hypoxic hypoxia?

There is not enough air available for your body to utilize

Hypemic hypoxia?

Oxygen cannot bind to hemoglobin in the bloodstream

Histotoxic hypoxia?

Your lungs, tissues, and other organs cannot accept the oxygen being circulated by your blood due to drugs and alcohol

What is stagnant hypoxia

Your blood isn’t circulating so it’s not providing oxygen throughout your body

What is the inversion illusion

Leveling out from a climb makes you feel like you are tumbling backwards; reaction will be to push the nose forward

What is the coriolis illusion

Pilot is in a steady turn and moves head (reaching down), becomes disoriented

What is the elevator illusion?

Updrafts and downdrafts create the sensation of climbing or descending.

What is the false horizon illusion?

Aligning the plan with an apparent horizon (city lights, shoreline, cloud bank etc).

What are the leans

When correcting a prolonged gentle bank the sensation is a turn in the opposite direction. Can cause the pilot to re-enter the original turn.

What is autokenesis?

At night staring at a light for more than a few seconds will cause the light to appear to move

What is the graveyard spiral?

You enter an unnoticed turn and see that you are losing altitude so you pull back to climb but this makes the turn tighter and you start to descend faster

What is the graveyard spin?

You recover from a spin but then you think you are spinning in the opposite direction which leads to a spin in the original direction again

What is the somatographic illusion?

When you accelerate you feel like you are pitching up so you pitch down. Vise Versa for de acceleration. Most apparent on takeoff.

What are the two main symptoms of hypoxia?

Euphoria and Cyanosis

What are signs someone may have carbon monoxide poisoning?

Dizziness, drowsiness, headache

What is hyperventilation?

Excessive loss of carbon dioxide due to increased breathing rate

If you are unsure whether or not your passengers have hypoxia or are just hyperventilating, which one should you treat for?

Hypoxia

If you suspect someone in your aircraft is hypoxic, what should you do?

Use supplemental oxygen if available, land immediately and have medics ready upon landing

If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, what should you do?

Open fresh air vents, open windows, turn off cabin heat and defrost if its on, land immediately and have medics ready upon landing.

What regulation includes supplemental oxygen requirements?

91.211

PVT: When must you have supplemental oxygen?

Crew must use above 12,500ft MSL for longer than 30 minutes, crew must use for any period of time above 14,000ft MSL, must be available for all occupants starting at 15,000 ft MSL

CPL: What are the oxygen requirements for pressurized aircraft?

Above FL250 all occupants must have a 10 minute supply available.

Above FL350 one pilot must be wearing an oxygen mask unless there are two pilots at the controls with quick don masks available.

Above FL410 one pilot must use a mask

What are the supplemental oxygen recommendations?

Day: above 10,000ft MSL

Night: above 5,000ft MSL

Why is the supplemental oxygen requirement lower at night than daytime?

The rods in the eyes are used for night vision and the rods require more oxygen to function

Why should we not fly with a sinus/ear infection?

Trapped pressure doesn’t have a way to equalize due to blocked pores/canals. This will exacerbate symptoms, and can make the infection worse.

What are the different sensory systems?

Vestibular, optic, somatosensory

What is motion sickness?

The sensory systems are sensing conflicting information

What helps with motion sickness?

Looking at a fixed point straight ahead, fresh air, ginger root

What are the landing illusions?

Featureless terrain

Runway length/slope

Atmosphere

Ground lighting

How will featureless terrain effect an approach?

Lack of ground references will make the plane feel higher than actual, causing the approach to be flown low

What effect does a wide runway have on an approach?

Makes the pilot feel lower than actual, causing the approach to be flown high

What effect does a narrow runway have on approach?

Makes the pilot feel higher than actual, causing the approach to be flown low

What effect does an up-sloping runway have on approach?

Make the pilot feel higher than actual, causing the approach to be flown low

What effect does a down-sloping runway have on approach?

Makes the pilot feel low so the approach will be flown high

What effect does haze have on approach?

Makes the pilot feel farther away and higher than actual, causing a lower approach

What effect does fog have on approach?

Plane seems to be pitching up, causing a steeper than normal approach

What effect does rain have on approach?

Judging distance becomes hard

What effect does clear air have on approach?

Makes the pilot feel closer than actual to the runway, causing a high approach

What are the types of stress and fatigue?

Acute- short term

Chronic - long term

What is a risk of flying after scuba diving?

Decompression sickness via BENDS

What is the BENDS?

Excess nitrogen in the blood, accumulated from diving to higher barometric pressures, exits the tissues as altitude in increased, causing it to bubble and pool in bendable joints.

How long do passengers/pilots need to wait to fly after scuba diving?

24 hours for pressure altitudes above 8,000ft

Controlled ascent: wait 24hrs regardless of altitude

Uncontrolled ascent: wait 12hrs before flying up to 8,000ft

What do the regulations say regarding alcohol?

AT LEAST: 8 hours bottle to throttle, less than 0.04 BAC, and no symptoms (can’t fly hungover).

If you took Benadryl before bed, could you fly the next day?

No

What is the checklist we use to make sure we are fit to fly?

IMSAFE

What is the antidote for the “macho” attitude?

taking chances is foolish

What is the solution for “anti-authority”?

The rules are there for a reason

What is the solution for “impulsivity”?

Think first

What is the solution to “invulnerability”?

It could happen to you

What is the antidote to “resignation”?

I can make a difference