Effects of Various Types of Cockpit Workload on Incidence of Spatial Disorientation in Simulated Flight
Abstract
Spatial disorientation (SD) refers to a pilot's misperception of the attitude, position, or motion of his/her aircraft, and it is one of the leading causes of fatal mishaps in military and civilian aviation. While several studies have examined the effects of SD on cognition or have linked increased cockpit workload to SD, few specifically and systematically compared how various types of workload interfere with maintenance of spatial orientation. In the current study, 24 pilots flew simulated flights in four different workload conditions. The baseline condition presented no additional workload, while the other conditions added either a verbal working memory task, a spatial mental rotation task, or a spatial variable-following-distance task. The verbal working memory task condition resulted in a statistically significant threefold increase in the number of control reversal errors, while the mental rotation and variable-following-distance task conditions yielded significant increases in unusual attitudes. The results are discussed from attentional resource and task interference perspectives, and the importance of using different SD measures is emphasized.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1063191
Entities
People
- Benton D. Lawson
- Charles R. Powell
- Dain S. Horning
- Frederick R. Patterson
- Henry P. Williams
Organizations
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton
- Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
- United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab