Chapter 6 - Aeromedical Factors and ADM Flashcards
When it comes to illness, what is the safest rule to follow?
Do not fly while suffering from any illness.
What should a pilot do if they have a question over flying with an illness?
Contact an Aviation Medical Examiner
What does the CFR prohibit in terms of medications?
A pilot from performing crewmember duties while using any medication that affects the faculties in any way contrary to safety
What issues does alcohol make a pilot more susceptible to?
Disorientation and hypoxia
How many hours after drinking any alcoholic beverage are you prohibited from performing crew-member duties?
8 hours
What is a good rule to follow in regards to flying after drinking alcohol?
At least 12 to 24 hours before flying
What is OSA?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
What is the danger of OSA?
OSA prevents restorative sleep and can cause fatigue and inability to safely operate the aircraft
Generally speaking, should you fly while you’re stressed?
No; it can lead to impaired judgement, impatience, and distraction.
What are the two types of fatigue?
Acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term)
When does chronic fatigue occur?
When there is not enough time for full recovery between episodes of acute fatigue
How does one recover from chronic fatigue?
A long period of rest
What can you use to make sure you’re safe to fly personally?
A checklist, I’M SAFE (Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion)
What is hypoxia?
A state of oxygen deficiency in the body sufficient to impair functions of the brain and other organs
What altitude does deterioration of night vision due to hypoxia occur at?
As low as 5000 ft
At what altitude do significant effects of hypoxia begin to occur at?
12-15,000 ft
What can be affected by hypoxia?
Judgement, memory, alertness, coordination, drowsiness, dizziness, etc
How fast can pilot performance deteriorate at or above 15,000 ft?
Within 15 mins
Can alcohol and medication make you more susceptible to hypoxia?
Yes, significantly
At what altitudes are pilots encouraged to use supplemental oxygen?
10,000 ft during the day, 5,000 ft at night
What do the CFR require in terms of supplemental oxygen for the flight crew?
After 30 mins of exposure to altitudes 12,500 to 14,000 ft and immediately for altitudes 14,000 ft and up
What do the CFR require in terms of supplemental oxygen for everyone onboard an aircraft?
Supplemental oxygen must be supplied to every occupant at pressure altitudes above 15,000
What is the valsalva maneuver?
Closing your mouth, pinching the nose, and attempting to blow air through the nostrils to equalize air pressures in the ear canal
What is an ear block?
A situation where an illness or allergy produces enough congestion to prevent the Eustachian tube from being able to equalize pressure in the ear canal. It results in severe pain, loss of hearing, ruptured ear drums, and infection
What is the safe course of action with regards to an ear block?
Don’t fly; medications do not work well enough or can cause pilot impairment
What is a sinus block?
A plug in the sinuses preventing pressure equalization due to an illness or allergy. It often happens on descent
Where are the maxillary sinuses located?
Above each eyebrow
What are the results of a sinus block of the maxillary sinuses?
Excruciating pain, teethe aching, and bloody mucus discharging from the nose
What is the safe course of action with regards to a nasal block?
Don’t fly; medications do not work well enough or can cause pilot impairment
What is the recommended waiting time before going to fly up to 8000 ft after SCUBA diving?
At least 12 hrs after after non decompression stop diving, and 24 hours after decompression stop diving
What is the recommended waiting time before going to fly ABOVE 8000 ft after SCUBA diving?
At least 24 hrs
What can result from hyperventilation?
Spiraling issues eventually resulting in unconsciousness
What should happen if a pilot starts to experience hyperventilation while using a supplemental oxygen system?
It should be set to 100% oxygen and then the system checked to make sure it is working properly before paying attention to rate and depth of breathing
What is the typical cause of aircraft accidents resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning?
Exhaust fumes escaping from cracks and seals in the manifold into cabin heaters
What should a pilot due if they smell exhaust fumes or feel headache, drowziness, or dizziness while using the heater?
Turn off the heater and open all air vents
What is The Leans illusion?
When a plane slowly enters a banked attitude and then is rapidly corrected, an illusion that the plane is in a banked attitude when level can occur and “correction” back to the banked attitude can happen.
What is the Coriolis Illusion?
An abrupt head movement in a prolonged constant-bank turn can result in an illusion of rotation or movement in an entirely different access
What is Somatogravic illusion?
A feeling of the plane pitching up or down due to acceleration or deceleration, resulting in a wrong “correction”
What is inversion illusion?
An abrupt change from a climb to straight and level flight can produce the sensation of tumbling backwards, resulting in a “correction” to a nose low/dive, further exacerbating the illusion
What is the elevator illusion?
An abrupt upward vertical upward or downward acceleration (often caused by updrafts or downdrafts) can create the illusion of being in a climb or descent
What is the False Horizon illusion?
Sloping cloud formations, obscured horizons, dark scene with ground lights and stars, and certain geometric patterns or ground light can create illusions of not being aligned correctly with the actual horizon
What is Autokinesis?
In the dark, a static light will appear to move about when stared at for a little while.
What is Runway Width illusion?
A narrower or wider than usual runway can create the illusion that the aircraft is at a higher or lower altitude than it actually is (lower for narrower, higher for wider)
What is Runway and Terrain Slopes illusion?
An upsloping or downsloping runway causing the pilot to think they are higher or lower than they actually are
What is the Featureless Terrain illusion?
Landing over a featureless area can create the illusion that the aircraft is at a higher altitude than it actually is, resulting in a lower approach
What are atmospheric illusions?
Rain on the windscreen, atmospheric haze, and fog can create issues of greater height, greater distance from the runway, or pitching up
What is the ground lighting illusion?
Lights along a straight path can be mistaken for a runway, and runway lights in areas where the lights illuminate the terrain can create the illusion of less distance to the runway
What are the light-sensitive cells in the eye called?
Rods and cones
Where does most “looking” occur in the eye?
The fovea; a small pit at the back of the eye where detail, color sensitivity and resolution are highest
What type of eye cells are better able to detect movement and provide vision in dim light?
Rods
Of the body senses, which is most important for safe flight?
Vision
What is dark adaptation?
A process by which vision becomes more sensitive to light
When should you use red cockpit lighting?
Only when optimum outside night vision capabilities are necessary because colors, especially on aeronautical charts, are severely distorted by red light.
What percentage of light and what color should your sunglasses absorb?
15% transmittance and all colors equally (neutral transmittance)
Approximately how much time should your focus be inside the cabin vs. outside the plane?
1/4 to 1/3 inside, remainder outside
What is Empty Field Myopia?
A condition that occurs when flying above the clouds or in a haze layer that provides nothing specific to focus on outside the aircraft, resulting in the eyes relaxing and seeking a comfortable focal distance that prevents the pilot from actually seeing things outside the airfract
What are some examples of situations where the NTSB should be contacted?
An aircraft accident, flight control systems malfunction or failure, inability of any crew member to perform flight duties due to injury or illness, failure of structural components of a turbine, in-flight fire, in-flight aircraft collision, damage to property other than the aircraft estimated to exceed $25,000 for repair or total loss
How soon after an incident does a pilot need to file a report with the NTSB?
Within 10 days after an accident or after 7 days if an overdue aircraft is still missing
How should an accident site be handled by the pilot?
The site should be left alone and preserved until NTSB takes custody of the situation, except to remove injured or trapped persons, protect the wreckage from further damage, or protect the public from injury
What is ADM?
Aeronatical Decision-Making
What do decision aids help with?
Preventing the most human of frailties; forgetting
What does the effectiveness of ADM rely on?
The knowledge required to understand the situation, the information available, the possible options, the skills required to execute a decision, and the self-awareness to recognize when hazardous attitudes are influencing decisions and the self-discipline to overcome those attitudes
What does risk management, as an ADM process, rely on?
Analysis of all information in a particular situation and making of a timely decision on what action to take
In broad terms, what is a hazard?
A hazard is a condition that, if left unchecked, becomes a risk
What is a risk?
A risk is the future impact of a hazard that is not controlled or eliminated
What is the AIM?
Aeronautical Information Manual; the bible!
What are the main parts of 14 CFR that concern pilots?
61 and 91
If the airplane needs to be flown to somewhere where its 100 hr inspection needs to be done, but that will put it past 100 hours, is that allowed?
Yes, but it must stay within 10 hours and any time past 100 needs to be subracted from the next 100 hours to inspection
How often does a pilot need to do a pilot review?
Once every 24 months unless the pilot has had a proficiency check within 24 months
