BOBBY Z NEWS JOURNALISM

Writings

ABOUT

BREAKING NEWS STORIES

Kennedy Crash at Martha's Vineyard

 

Aviation Physiology

Investigators will probe many areas searching for a cause of the accident including aviation physiology. What physical factors may have inhibited Kennedy's ability to land the airplane under stressful conditions? Did fatigue and tiredness play a role? It has been reported that Kennedy was flying his Saratoga II at a time when his physical capacities wer lessened by fatigue. Some degree of tiredness at the time of the crash contrasted his physiology at takeoff time. To help you learn about Aviation Physiology here's what Jeppesen Sanderson Instrument Flying Training Textbook states.

 

Advanced Human Factors Concepts

Awareness of your body's position in relation to your environment is a result of input from three primary sources: vision, the vestibular system located in your inner ear, and your kinesthetic senses. Kinesthetic sense is the term used to describe an awareness of position obtained from the nerves in your skin, joints, and muscles. Kinesthetic sense is unreliable, because the brain cannot tell the difference between input caused by gravity and that of maneuvering G-loads. (Forces of gravity acting upon the body)

In good weather and daylight a pilot obtains orientation primarily through vision. He/she flies the airplane following well-established Visual Flight Rules (VFR). Flying in IFR conditions (Instrument Flight Rules) apply to flying by controlled reference to flight instruments for spatial recognition. In IFR flying conditions (poor visibility) or at night, there are fewer visual cues, and your body relies upon the vestibular and kinesthetic senses to supplement your vision. Since these senses can provide false clues about your orientation to earth, the probability of disorientation occurring in IFR weather is quite high.

Fatigue, anxiety, heavy pilot workloads, and the intake of alcohol or other drugs increase one's susceptibility to disorientation and visual illusions. Response times increase and decision-making abilities decrease as spatial disorientation sets in while flying under IFR conditions. Jeppesen textbook materials suggest that to alleviate the symptoms of disorientation, a pilot must rely on and properly interpret the indications of the flight instruments. Reducing workload with the use of autopilot, and improving cockpit management skills helps prevent human work overload and the possibility of disorientation. Lightheadedness, dizziness, the feeling of instability, and the sensation of spinning are common symptoms of disorientation.