Spatial Disorientation: Confusion that Kills
GO BEYOND THE TEXTBOOK—STAY ORIENTED WITH THIS SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Pilots deprived of visual references while flying can quickly lose control of the aircraft and succumb to one of general aviation’s biggest killers: spatial disorientation. While the physiology and dangers of spatial disorientation are taught during primary and instrument flight training, pilots can still misunderstand spatial disorientation and how to deal with it.
This safety spotlight explains what spatial disorientation is, how it happens, and how you can avoid its hazards—it also examines accidents where some pilots couldn’t escape spatial disorientation.
You’ll review:
- The role of our sensory systems
- Visual and vestibular illusions
- Dangers of VFR flight into IMC
- Potential hazards of night VFR flight into VMC
- Why instrument flight into IMC is not immune
- Inadvertent IMC encounter strategies
- Spatial disorientation recovery