Lecture 9 orientation & motion sickness

1. Lecture 9orientation & motion sickness AHF 2203 – AVIATION HUMAN FACTOR

2. Introduction - Orientation • Orientation = relative position • Is the key element in preventing aviation accidents. • If the plane works, and the pilot is not impaired, then the only other significant ingredient in safe flight for the trained pilot is maintaining orientation of the plane and himself.

3. Introduction - Orientation • Situational awareness is similar to orientation. • But it includes: • Awareness of what’s going on with other aircraft • Weather • ATC • Cockpit communication.

4. Three Sensory Inputs for Orientations 1. Visual Vision 2. Vestibular Organs equilibrium located in the inner ears 3. Proprioceptive Receptors located in the skin muscles, tendons and joins ALL THREE SYSTEMS INTERGRATE TO FORM A COMPLETE MENTAL PICTURE 4

5. Continue. . . . • All three systems integrate to form a complete mental picture • Body Senses Which Assist in Maintenance of Balance / Equilibrium • Vision is most valid sense for maintaining orientation

6. WHAT IS DISORIENTATION?

7. Disorientation • Disorientation is lack of orientation or also can be said as lack awareness of the situation. • Individual will not be able to: • Determine position • Flight Attitude • Motion relative to earth surfaces • Disorientation is a leading cause of more than 15 percent of reported accidents.

8. Disorientation • When disorientation affected pilot: • Pilots are unable to see, believe, interpret, or prove the information derived from their flight instruments. • Instead, they rely on the false information that their senses provide.

9. Types of DISORIENTATION There are 5 types of DISORIENTATION, which are: • Postural disorientation • Positional disorientation – related to position • Temporal disorientation – related to time • Spatial disorientation – related to motion • Vestibular disorientation – related to Vestibular system • Visual Illusion – related to Vision system

10. 1. Postural disorientation • There are receptors within our skin, muscles, tendons, and joints that detect changes in relative position, pressure, and up and down changes of our posture. • Every time a muscle contracts or relaxes, tendons are pulled or released and joints move. • Proprioceptive signals are those generated by these changes. • All these inputs, which are continuously coming to the brain, tell the position of the pilot. *tendon: organ that connect muscle and bone

11. 1. Postural disorientation • Posture also can be sensed by VESTIBULAR system (Organs equilibrium located in the inner ears). • In flight, these signals can conflict and be confusing to the mind, giving false interpretations and leading to DISORIENTATION. • Acceleration causes a feeling of pressure in various parts of the body

12. 2. Positional disorientation Means the pilot is lost and doesn’t know his position (disoriented). Thus, he unable to take effective corrective action.

13. 3. Temporal disorientation • Temporal means related to time. • It is direct function of how fast the brain process the information

14. 4. Spatial Disorientation Spatial Disorientation is defined as illusions associated with relative motion. Spatial means how the pilot is orientedto the horizon as either straight and level, in a turn, or climbing or descending (a visual orientation in a given space). Vision is the source to determine balance and orientation. It will tell you how to react when you are in motion. It will mislead you into an illusion of your own motion.

15. Spatial Disorientation

16. 5. Vestibular disorientation

17. 5. Vestibular disorientation • Disorientation because of the Vestibular System not functioning well. • The most severe and intense feeling of instability and unbalance. • Can cause the Motion Sickness to the pilot, crew and passengers. • When pilot experiencing vestibular disorientation, it is called as VERTIGO.

18. 5. Vestibular disorientation • Vertigo is the inability of a person to perceive his/her position relative to the earth. • In other words • he/she cannot tell which way is UP!!!

19. Vestibular System The Vestibular system is located in the inner ear. There are two related structures, which are: • Semicircular Canals: • Consists of three canals, Each canal is a bony, fluid-filled structure. • Enlarged area containing a sensory structure. • Otolith Organs: • One of the particles in the inner ear. • It helps maintain equilibrium relative to the gravity.

20. Vestibular System Semicircular Canals OtolithOrgans Auditory Nerve Cochlea Ossicles Ear Drum Middle Ear External Ear Eustachian Tube Opening to Throat 20

21. Vestibular System 1. Semicircular Canals • Semicircular Canals is sensitive to angular acceleration . • Angular acceleration is the change in both speed and direction . • It detects yaw, pitch, and roll motions. 21

22. Vestibular System 2. Otolith Organs • The Otolith organs is sensitive to linear acceleration and deceleration (forward, aft, up, and down) • Linear accelerations is the change in speed without a change in direction

23. Semicircular canals response to Roll, Pitch and Yaw

24. Vestibular Disorientation • Vestibular disorientation will lead towards vestibular illusion. • Vestibular illusions is an inaccurate models of orientation. • There are four types vestibular illusions: • CoriolisiIlusion • Leans iIlusion • Occulogravic illusion • Rotational illusion Illusion: False Belief

25. a) CoriolisIlusion • Coriolis – Circular motion of wind as it passes over a rotating earth. • Coriolis illusion is caused by the sudden change to the VESTIBULAR system • It occurs due to aircraft angular acceleration that affect the flow of fluids inside the semicircular canals. • It is dangerous illusion as it overwhelming sense of disorientation. • Can occur in any phase of flight especially during the beginning of turn for climb and descend.

26. a) Coriolis Illusion • If pilot turn his head in different direction of aircraft turn, he will disoriented and confuses either aircraft were in a roll or yaw • To avoid, do not move your head too fast in limited visibility or darkness.

27. b) Leans Illusion Leans Illusion is the false movement sense, can occurs when the pilot senses a bank angle when the aircraft is actually in level flight. The leans can easily occur if the pilot not pay attention to the cockpit instrument.

28. c) Occulogravic Illusion: A false sensation of climbing Oculogravic: in conditions of acceleration, sense of nose high or low and correction in pitch in a direction opposite the sensation. When an aircraft accelerates in level flight, the otolith organs sense a nose-high attitude, which cause the pilot to pitch the aircraft down.

29. d) Rotational Illusion Also called angular motion illusion. It caused by mis-information from a constant-rate turn (spin). The pilot will disorientated and unable to control his actions. Can cause the aircraft loss of control.

30. 6) Visual illusions • Visual illusions affect what the pilot perceives solely through vision, which in turn determines how he or she will respond. • Illusions of this kind are a greater source of misguidance in a flying activity such as judging landing height and distances • Examples of visual illusions are: • Autokinesis, Landing visual illusion, Weather condition leads illusion and False horizon.

31. 6) Visual illusions - Auto kinesis • Auto kinesis is the perception of false movement when a static source of light is looked at by the pilot for a period of time (minutes). • This moving reference point (an illusion) could lead the pilot to visually follow it. • It is felt that the cause is the brain’s and eyes’ attempts to find some other point of reference in an otherwise featureless visual field. • Prevention is a combination of realizing the eyes must focus on other objects at varying distances, not fixating on one target, and basic scanning.

33. 6) Visual illusions – Landing illusions Landing Illusions – Sloping runway

34. 6) Visual illusions – Landing illusions Landing Illusion – Runway width

35. 6) Visual illusions – Weather Condition • Weather condition such as haze, fog and others may cause visual illusion.

36. 6) Visual illusions – False Horizon • A false horizon can occur when the natural horizon is obscured or not readily apparent. • It can be generated by confusing bright stars and city lights. • It can also occur while flying toward the shore of an ocean or a large lake. • Because of the relative darkness of the water, the lights along the shoreline can be mistaken for stars in the sky.

37. 6) Visual illusions – False Horizon

38. 6) Visual illusions – False Horizon Imagine if you fly at night in across a city which have bright light like this, would you be able to distinguish between star lights and ground like location?

39. Part 2: Motion Sickness

40. Introduction – Motion Sickness • Motion sickness occurs when man is exposed to real and unfamiliar motion. • Normally experienced by training’s pilot or passengers. • Pilot and passengers will feel uneasiness because a bit of anxiety, unfamiliarity.

41. Major Causes of Motion Sickness • Motion sickness is caused by continued stimulation of the tiny portion of the inner ear (vestibular system) which controls your sense of balance/equilibrium. • Several factors that can affect the vestibular system are: • When exposed to unfamiliar motion. • During turbulent weather

42. Major Causes of Motion Sickness • Some of the other additional common causes include • Heart discomfort • Anxiety • Observing or smelling someone else who is airsick • Eating foods that are nauseating (disgusting).

43. Symptoms of Motion Sickness • It causes nausea (tendency to vomit). • The symptoms are progressive. First, you lose your desire for food. • Then saliva collects in your mouth and you begin to sweat freely. • Eventually, you become nauseated and disoriented. • Your head aches and you may have to vomit. • Finally, can become incompletely incapacitated (incapacitated: prevent from functioning in a normal way)

44. Prevention & Treatment • Drink Enough Water • Use supplemental oxygen • Loosen tight fitting clothing • Limit head movement, avoid unnecessary movement • Focus on a point outside of aircraft • If severe, cancel flight and landing aircraft

45. Conclusion • For summarization disorientation is caused by: • Vestibular system not functioning well and resulting to the false sensation to the pilot • Misinterpretation of visual information. • Motion sickness occurs when man is exposed to real and unfamiliar motion. Normally experienced by training’s pilot or passengers because a bit of anxiety, unfamiliarity.