1LT Alkhaldi

The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia

Spatial disorientation

Spatial disorientation• spatial unawareness is the inability of a person to

correctly determine his/her body position in space. This phenomenon refers especially to aircraft pilots and underwater divers.

• In aviation, the term means the inability to correctly interpret aircraft attitude, altitude or airspeed, in relation to the Earth or point of reference.

• For pilots the defination of spatial disorientation• Spatial disorientation is a condition in which an aircraft

pilot's perception of direction does not agree with reality.

• it is more typically a temporary condition resulting from flight into poor weather conditions with low or no visibility. Under these conditions the pilot may be deprived of an external visual horizon, which is critical to maintaining a correct sense of up and down while flying.

• A pilot who enters such conditions will quickly lose spatial orientation if there has been no training in flying with reference to instruments.

• Approximately 80% of the private pilots who do not have an instrument rating, and therefore are prohibited from flying in conditions where instrument skills are required. Not all pilots abide by this rule and approximately 40% of the fatal general aviation accident reports list "continuation of flight into conditions for which the pilot was not qualified" as a cause.

Symptoms of spatial disorientation

Reason behind spatial disorientation (vertigo)

• Any disagreements and conflicts between these stimuli will result in confusion and sensory mismatch that can produce illusions and eventually lead to spatial disorientation.