Operator’s Guide to Human Performance and

Human Factors in Aviation Limitations

Managing Visual
Somatogravic Illusions
Operator’s Guide to Human Performance and
Human Factors in Aviation Limitations

Managing Visual Somatogravic Illusions

1. Introduction to the vestibular system

2. Somatogyral illusions
3. Somatogravic illusions
4. Conclusion

To be used with:
Briefing Note Vestibular System and Illusions
1.HP_11_ Vestibular & Postural Control
 1. Introduction to the vestibular system
Labyrinths Visual input
Proprioceptive
input

Gaze stabilisation Orientation in space Balance

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 Location of the vestibular system

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 Six degrees of freedom

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 The human inner ear

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 Anterior canal
Cochlea

N. cochlearis Utriculus
Horizontal canal
Sacculus
N. vestibularis

Posterior canal

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 Mechanism of rotation detection

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  The driving stimulus for the semicircular canal sensory cells is angular
acceleration
 The canal dynamics, however, have an integrating function and convert
acceleration into angular rate
 Under conditions of sustained rotation, the elastic properties of the
cupula (the membrane with the detectors) drive it back to its zero
position after ± 7 seconds
 Despite the existence of a velocity storage mechanism in the brain,
after 20 to 30 seconds there is no accurate detection of movement

1.HP_11_ Vestibular & Postural Control

 Transient rotations, typically for head
movements, are perfectly detected

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 Sustained rotations are not
appropriately detected

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 Somatogyral illusion
 A somatogyral illusion is
• A false sensation of rotation or absence of rotation
• Any discrepancy between actual and perceived rate of self-rotation

 It originates in the inability of the semicircular canals to register

accurately prolonged rotation (> 30 s), e.g. banking during a
holding pattern

 The operation window of the canals corresponds to

‘physiological’ frequencies, i.e. 0.1 – 5 Hz

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 Somatogyral illusion example:
the graveyard spin

 Suppose the aircraft makes a sustained turn.

 After ± 30s, the canals stop responding, and the brain
has no sense of turning any more.
 If the trajectory of the aircraft is now straightened, the
brain senses a turn in the opposite direction due to
the angular deceleration.
 The pilot perceives a turn in the opposite direction
 He may erroneously correct for this illusory spin and
re-enter the original turn to compensate, so that he
perceives stable flight.
 Additionally, his gaze may be disturbed by the
nystagmus of his eyes, that disables clear reading of
the solely reliable instruments.

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 Solution to somatogyral illusions

 Rely on the flight instruments – never on your perception ( your

internal instruments)
 Make the instruments read right !
 When nystagmus disturbs your vision – fixate on a nearby fixed
point on the instrument panel
• Converging the eyes also diminishes nystagmus
 Continuously remember that sustained rotations are, by
definition, misperceived by the equilibrium system

Visual information is of a higher order than vestibular information

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 Is this right?

1.HP_11_ Vestibular & Postural Control

 Ma
k et
he
i ns
tr um
en
ts
r ea
dr
igh
t

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 Acceleration detectors

Utricle

Saccule

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 Principle of otolith organ function

The otoliths consist of calcium carbonate ‘stones’ embedded in a gelatinous

substance. When the head moves, the inertia or weight of the stones bends the

hair cells and thus activates nerve cells, sending a signal to the brain
proportional to the amount of head movement.

Driving stimulus equals linear accelerations, change of orientation with respect

to gravity
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 The otolith membrane in the inner ear

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 Ambiguity of the otolithic membrane action

Backward Tilt = Forward acceleration

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 Ambiguity of the otolithic membrane action

Forward Tilt = Deceleration

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 Gravito-inertial acceleration

 The gravito-inertial acceleration (GIA) is the vector sum of the vector of

gravitational acceleration (upward) and all other linear accelerations
acting on the head

1.HP_11_ Vestibular & Postural Control

 Somatogravic illusion

 A somatogravic illusion is a false sensation of body tilt that results from

perceiving as vertical the direction of non-vertical gravito-inertial acceleration
or force

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 Somatogravic illusion during takeoff

 The somatogravic illusion of ‘nose-up’ sensation after takeoff and the

erroneous correction of the pilot to push the yoke forward has caused
more than a dozen airline crashes

 An aircraft accelerating from 170 to 200 knots over a period of 10

seconds just after takeoff, generates +0.16 G on the pilot

 The GIA is only 1.01 G

 The corresponding sensation is 9 degrees ‘nose up’

 When no visual cues are present and the instruments are ignored, an
unwary pilot might push the nose down and crash

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1.HP_11_ Vestibular & Postural Control
 Somatogravic illusion during final approach

 An inexperienced pilot may perceive deceleration due to

lowering the flaps as a steep nose-down sensation

 On the runway, before the nose wheel touches down, the

deceleration may be perceived as a too-low vertical attitude.

 An erroneous correction to bring the nose up may cause

damage

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1.HP_11_ Vestibular & Postural Control
 Caution
 21 percent of approach-and-landing accidents involved
disorientation or visual illusion

 Flying in the simulator can provoke some of these illusions, but

the GIA never exceeds 1 G and can not mimic the somatogravic
illusion of false nose-up sensation due to acceleration or nose-
down one due to deceleration

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 Conclusion
 Would the best pilots be those who have no ‘misleading’
vestibular organ?

 No, because they would not be able to stabilize their

gaze to read the instruments

 However, being aware of the misleading information of

the vestibular organ is crucial; humans are not designed
to fly

 Debrief on your erroneous perceptions and realize that it

is a perfectly human and normal sensation (we can’t help
it). But, it is not suitable for flying

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 Conclusion cont.
 Confidence, competence and currency in instrument flying
greatly reduces the risk of disorientation

 Prioritize the workload; first fly the aircraft, then do

everything else

 Build up experience controlling the aircraft in an

environment of conflicting orientation cues

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 Conclusion cont.

 Avoid disorientation by making frequent instrument cross-checks, even

when the autopilot is on

 Match the instrument readings with your internal mental representation of

the flight path

 Recover from disorientation by:

• Making the instruments read right, regardless of your sensation

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 Conclusion cont.

 Don’t trust your built-in equilibrium organs, particularly in low-visibility

conditions

 In moments of stress, make decisions based on the instruments; don’t

fall back on your instinct or perceptions

 Garbage in leads to garbage out.

 The human equilibrium system is designed to function on land, to chase

animals… not to fly aircraft.

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 Short calculation

 1 knot = 0.514 m/s

 Acceleration after takeoff:
• 30 kts/10s = 1.54 m/s2
 1 G = 9.81 m/s2
  acceleration = 0.16 G
 GIA = sqrt(12 + 0.162) = 1.01 G
 Inclination = Arc Tan(0.16/1) = 9
degrees
 Nose-up impression of 9 degrees