Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
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Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
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Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#2Good article, but I am a bit confused about how someone in 1906 (2nd page, top paragraph) supposedly did research on vestibular effects on pilots...
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#3Good article, but I am a bit confused about how someone in 1906 (2nd page, top paragraph) supposedly did research on vestibular effects on pilots...
I don't see anything particularly confusing about that. The Wright brothers flew in 1903, and if we don't limit ourselves to pilots of heavier than air craft, Zeppelins started flying in 1900. It would be perfectly reasonable for a 1906 researcher to look into things that might effect pilots.
That said, the article may be mistaken in the sense that the research, while applicable to pilots, appears to have actually been motivated by his work with patients suffering from dizzy spells. (BTW, he received the 1914 Nobel Prize in medicine for this research).
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#4[deleted]
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#5I've had a similar experience while driving on a highway at night in foggy conditions. All of a sudden my car started slowing down and was rapidly losing power. I checked and it wasn't fuel, so I figured the engine was dying somehow. It wasn't until I tried gearing down that I realized I had been on a steep hill and fifth gear wasn't powerful enough. But even afterward, I couldn't sense that I was on an incline.
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#6How are there not heads up systems that detect this? A simple "warning 5 seconds to impact with the ocean" would at least warn the pilot.
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#7> According to a 2004 study, the average life expectancy of a non-instrument-rated pilot who flies into clouds or instrument conditions is 178 seconds.
That is a chilling statistic.
As a VFR pilot, I often wonder what would happen inside a cloud to make me react and rip my plane apart in under 3 minutes.
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#8How are there not heads up systems that detect this? A simple "warning 5 seconds to impact with the ocean" would at least warn the pilot.
Even little planes have those. What they need is a switch to tell the computer that they expect no descent whatsoever below xy000 feet, to stop it before it starts.
You can hear that warning here
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#9I don't see this article presenting the full picture of how this problem will be addressed in the future.
As ADIRUs (navigation computers) improve to better integrate GPS and inertial signals in all conditions even when all air data is lost, weather-related instrumentation failures will decrease. Next, putting a worldwide terrain map in the navigation system will let it compute whether it will hit the ground if the course is maintained - again, even when ground radar is not working.
Next, heads-up displays or helmet-mounted displays with better warning systems will make sure that the pilot receives the warning. And most importantly, when the pilot feels that they don't know how to react to the warning, they will be able to push a button to let the autopilot return the plane to wings-level flight.
Re: Why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
#10Given the analysis of what happened in the recent Air France crash, I can't imagine why the industry does not write better software to help combat this. It seems as if the programmers writing the software are more concerned about writing valid code to fit the designed system ("the pilot signaled us to climb at exactly 40 degrees, so do it") rather than writing code that models the real world situations accurately. I found this bit of an article about the crash the most troubling:
It was at this point, after autopilot turned off and they
worked to change their course, that a stall warning
sounded, meaning that the airplane wasn't generating enough
lift. The report notes the co-pilot grabbed the controls
and lifted the plane, which, according to aviation experts
is contrary to normal procedure during a stall, when the
nose should in fact be lowered.
I wonder what kind of hard limits do exist in the current avionics. For instance, is it possible to roll a Boeing/Airbus upside-down? If yes, why?