Visual Illusions Flashcards
Confusion with ground lights:
-Occurs when a pilot mistakes ground lights for celestial lights.
False horizon illusion:
-Occurs when a pilot confuses cloud formations with the horizon or ground.
Height-depth perception illusion:
-Occurs due to a lack of sufficient visual cues.
Crater illusion:
-Occurs when crew members land at night under NVD conditions and the IR searchlight is directed too far under the aircraft nose.
Structural illusion:
-Caused by the effects of rain, snow, sleet, heat waves, or other visual obscurants.
Size distance illusion:
-Are false perceptions of distance from an object or the ground, created when a crew member misinterprets an unfamiliar objects size to be the same as an object they are accustomed to viewing.
Fascination/fixation:
It can be separated into two categories: task saturation and target fixation.
Autokinesis:
-Occurs primarily at night when ambient visual cues are minimal and a small, dim light is seen against a dark background.
Name all visual illusions
- Vection (Induced Motion Illusion)
- False Horizon Illusion
- Confusion with ground lights
- Height-Depth Perception Illusion
- Crater Illusion
- Structural Illusion
- Size-Distance Illusion
- Size Constancy
- Shape Constancy
- Aerial Perspective
- Fascination (Fixation) in Flying
- Autokinesis
Vection (Induced Motion Illusion)
Induced motion is falsely perceived motion of oneself when no physical motion is actually occurring.
Size Constancy
A common example of a size constancy illusion is that of landing at an unfamiliar runway. A runway that is wider/narrower than expected may cause the pilot to think they are higher/lower or closer/farther away than they actually are.
Shape Constancy
Commonly encountered with sloping runways, a sloping runway may give the pilot the illusion of being too high/low and conducting the approach incorrectly as a consequence.
Aerial Perspective
Can occur if visual cues are of a different size, clarity, or discrimination than expected. I.e. a pilot could mistake smaller trees for large ones and to misjudge altitude, speed, etc.
