Aeromedical Factors

1. Aeromedical Factors

2. 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

3. Medical Certificate • Must possess valid and appropriate medical certificate to exercise the privileges of your pilot certificate

4. 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

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

6. Hypoxia • Name four types of hypoxia.

7. Hypoxia • Hypoxic Hypoxia • Hypemic Hypoxia • Stagnant Hypoxia • Histotoxic Hypoxia

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

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

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

11. Symptoms • Blue color in lips and fingernails • Unconsciousness • Death

12. 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

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

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

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

16. Carbon Monoxide • Susceptibility increases with altitude • Aircraft heater work by air flowing over the exhaust manifold

17. 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

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

19. 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

20. Decompression Sickness • Wait at least 24 hours after a dive requiring a controlled ascent

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

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

23. Preventive Measure • Open air vents • Loosen clothing • Supplemental oxygen, if available • Look outside the airplane

24. Preventive Measure • Avoid unnecessary head movement • Land as soon as possible

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. Ear Block • Swallowing, yawning, using Valsalva maneuver

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

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

32. 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

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

34. 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

35. 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

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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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

45. 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

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

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

48. 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

49. Illusions Leading to Landing Errors

50. 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