Assessment of in-Flight Spatial Disorientation Events Among Military Pilots

Spatial Disorientation (SD) in aviation is the incorrect perception that a pilot has of the position or movement of the aircraft in relation to the Earth or other nearby air vehicle. A survey was conducted on 203 military pilots, with ages between 24-46. Helicopter pilots had the largest number of illusions caused by ‘NVG (Night Vision Goggle)- related illusions’ (93.8%) and ‘Brownout-whiteout illusion’ (93.8%), while transport aircraft pilots had the highest number of ‘SD during final approach and landing’ (82.6%), and jet pilots had the highest number of ‘Illusion of anti-collision light reflection from clouds/fog’ (92.7%) and ‘Leans illusion’ (92.7%). A significant difference in severity scores of 'Brownout- whiteout illusion' was found between utility helicopter pilots and attack helicopter pilots (p<0.001). There was also a significant difference in the frequency of ‘Star- ground light confusion illusion’ between those pilots (p=0.035). Significant difference in the frequency of this illusion was also found among jet, helicopter and transport pilots (p<0.001). To cope with the ongoing problem of SD and its detrimental effects on flight safety, it is crucial to develop pilot-specific flight profiles and incorporate SD simulations particular to each aircraft model into the physiological trainings.