One of the canniest innovations in flight simulation has been the harnessing of the brain’s ability to misinterpret movement in order to generate a sense of cockpit realism.
Pilots advancing the thrust levers for take-off in a full-motion simulator experience an extraordinary sensation of acceleration capable of overturning the awareness that the machine is firmly bolted to the floor.
Such is the power of the somatogravic illusion. Rapid forward acceleration and sudden nose-up pitch affect the vestibular system in the ear the same way and, in the absence of true visual information, the brain struggles to differentiate between the two.
Investigators are querying whether this kinetic bait-and-switch played a role in the Avia Traffic overrun in Osh. Those on board the Boeing 737 escaped, narrowly, the trap set for the pilots by a combination of fatigue and deception. Others have been far less fortunate.
Confronting and neutralising somatogravic illusion demands a combination of awareness, recognition and the discipline to trust instruments, not instinct.
It seems there is a curious disconnect in aviation training. Although this overwhelming illusion is used to such convincing effect in simulators to mimic reality, its potentially lethal reverse form still manages to snare experienced crews unprepared for an encounter in the field.
Source: Flight International
