Human Performance

Question 1

What are the types of hypoxia, what are the symptoms of hypoxia and what must be done when encountering hypoxia

Answer 1

Types of hypoxia:
Hypoxic hypoxia - insufficient oxygen pressure (altitude)
Hypemic hypoxia - blood unable to carry oxygen (CO, anemia)
Stagnant hypoxia - inadequate blood flow (G-forces, shock)
Histotoxic hypoxia - cells unable to use oxygen (alcohol, drugs)

Typical symptoms:
Euphoria, poor judgment, tunnel vision, cyanosis, headache, dizziness

Correct action:
Use 100% oxygen
Descend immediately
Land as soon as practical

Question 2

What are the symptoms and correct actions to be taken when dealing with CO poisoning

Answer 2

Symptoms:
Headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, cherry-red lips (late sign)

Correct actions:
Cabin heat OFF
Fresh air ON
Oxygen ON
Land ASAP

Question 3

What are rods and cones, night flying limitations, and what is the best night scanning technique

Answer 3

Rods vs Cones:
Rods: night vision, peripheral, motion sensitive, no color
Cones: day vision, color, fine detail

Night vision limitations:
Poor depth perception
Reduced acuity
Susceptible to illusions

Best night scanning technique:
Scanning left to right
Off-center viewing (5–10° away from object)

Question 4

What are the following visual illusions:
False Horizon
Black Hole
Autokinesis
Empty Field Myopia

Answer 4

False horizon:
Sloping cloud layers or ground lights give incorrect attitude cues

Black hole:
Approach Featureless terrain with a well lit runway, lack of peripheral visual cues to show the terrain height, the isolated, bright lights of the runway make it appear closer or higher than it actually is

Autokinesis:
When staring at a single, fixed point of light in a dark, featureless environment, eye muscle fatigue and tiny, natural eye movements cause the light to appear to wander or jump

Empty Field Myopia:
In darkness without visual reference, eyes focus at ~1-2m

Question 5

What are the following vestibular illusions:
The leans
Coriolis illusion
Somatogravic illusion

What is the proper Mitigation technique

Answer 5

The Leans:
When entering a roll too slowly, the fluid in your ears won’t start moving, and your brain thinks you’re still straight-and-level
If you correct your wings back to level flight abruptly, your ears and brain think they’re banking in the opposite direction

Coriolis Illusion:
In a prolonged constant-rate turn, the pilot moves the head in a different plane, stimulating multiple semicircular canals and producing a powerful tumbling or spinning sensation that can cause severe disorientation

Somatogravic Illusion:
Linear acceleration is misinterpreted by the otolith organs as a nose-up pitch, causing the pilot to push the nose down
Linear deceleration is perceived as nose-down pitch, causing a nose-up control input
Common during night takeoff and go-around

Mitigation:
The Leans:
Avoid slow turns in clouds

Coriolis Illusion:
Avoid fast head movements during turns and focus on instrument scans

Somatogravic Illusion:
Avoid rapid accel/decel in clouds

Question 6

What are the effects and regulations of alcohol

Answer 6

Effects:
Impaired judgment, reduced vision, slowed reaction time
Alcohol worsens hypoxia

Regulations:
8 hours bottle to throttle (minimum)
24 hours recommended
Max 0.04% blood alcohol content

Question 7

What are the 2 types, effects and mitigation methods of fatigue

Answer 7

Types:
Acute fatigue - short-term lack of rest
Chronic fatigue - prolonged sleep debt

Effects:
Reduced attention, poor decision-making, slower reaction
Sleep Inertia - 5-20 min period of impaired performance after waking
WOCL - Peak fatigue during the Window of Circadian Low - body is at lowest alertness (02:00–06:00)

Mitigation:
Adequate rest, duty limits, IMSAFE assessment

Question 8

What are:
The 3 types of stress,
Effects of stress, and
Mitigation methods of stress management

Answer 8

Types:
Acute stress - short term, immediate stress
Chronic stress - long term, persistent pressure
Cumulative stress - combined acute and chronic stress over time

Effects:
Narrowed attention, fixation, poor decisions

Mitigation:
Management Planning, prioritization, CRM, time management

Question 9

What are the 5 hazardous attitudes

Answer 9

Anti-authority
Disregards rules, procedures, and ATC

Impulsivity
Acts without thinking, rushes decisions

Invulnerability
“It won’t happen to me”
Underestimates risk, overconfident

Macho
Takes unnecessary risks to prove ability

Resignation
“What’s the use?”
Gives up control, stops making decisions

Question 10

What are the 3 phases of stress

Answer 10

Alarm (Fight-or-Flight)

• The immediate, initial reaction to a stressor
• The brain sends emergency signals, releasing adrenaline and cortisol

Resistance/Adaptation

• The body attempts to adapt to ongoing stress, trying to repair itself and return to a normal state despite the stressor remaining

Exhaustion

• Occurs when stress continues for too long, depleting physical, emotional, and mental resources
• The body can no longer fight, leading to burnout, illness, or depression

Question 11

Monocular Cues
1. What is relative size
2. What is texture gradient
3. What is interposition
4. What is linear perspective
5. What is motion parallax
6. What is aerial perspective

Answer 11

1. When two objects are known to be similar in size, the smaller retinal image is perceived as farther away
   If rwy appears small, approach might feel high
2. Surface detail becomes finer and less distinct with increasing distance
3. If one object overlaps another, the overlapping object is perceived as closer
4. Parallel lines appear to converge with distance
   Runway edges appear to converge toward the far end - rwy appears narrow, approach feels high
5. When moving, nearby objects appear to move faster across the visual field than distant objects
   Loss of motion cues at night reduces depth perception dramatically
6. Distant objects appear hazy and lower contrast due to atmospheric scattering