Aviation Exam Review Notes

Human Performance
Stephen Varga

Flight Safety Concepts

Three basic components of Threat and Error Management (TEM Model)

1) Threats
2) Errors
3) Undesired aircraft states.

The three categories of errors: Aircraft handling, procedural and communications.

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ICAO 8 Core Competencies are

1) Aircraft flight path management - automation

2) Aircraft flight path management - manual
3) Communication
4) Leadership and teamwork
5) Problem-solving and decision-making
6) Situational awareness
7) Workload management
8) Application of procedures.

Safety Culture

In a company, management has the accountability and must provide crew with adequate
training and duty plans.

1) Responsibility lies within the individuals

2) Accountability lies within management.

Aviation companies implent safety management system (SMS).

1) Safety Policy and objectives

2) Safety Risk Management
3) Safety Assurance
4) Safety Promotion

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James Reason - Safety Culture is made up of 5 interrelated components.

- Informed Culture: Safety related date are actively collected and analysed with
information spread as as soon as available.
- Learning culture: Culture lerns from the mistakes of others.
- Reporting culture: Every person in the organisation has to be sure that committed
errors and concerns can ve voiced without risking negative consequences for
oneself.
- Just Culture: Such cultures do not sanction inadvertent violation or safety related
procedures and appreciates the communication of errors.
- Flexible Culture: Organisation as a whole is willing to adapt to new challenges in
the work environment and recognizes the implications of changes for the
maintenance of safe operation.

Basic of Flight Physiology

EASA 3 physiological threshold levels

1) Reaction threshold: 7000 ft

2) Disturbance Threshold 10 000 - 12 000 ft
3) Critical Threshold 20 000 - 22 000 ft

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Decompression Sickness can be prevented by:

1) Avoiding cabin altitudes above 18000 ft.

- Risk increases above 18000 ft as a decrease in ambient pressure causes gas
bubbles to form in the bloodstream tissues. 18 000 ft is 50% barometric
pressure compare to MSL.
2) Maintain cabin pressure below 8000 ft when flying at high altitudes.
- Henry’s law states at play as ambient pressure is decreased the gas will form
bubbles in the liquid. The body will be super saturated with nitrogen and the
lungs will struggle to remove it.
3) Breathing 100% oxygen for 30 min prior and during the flight.
- Although not used in commercial aviation, oxygen pre-breathing is
sometimes used in military flight operations.

Radiation

1) Alpha Radiation: Blocked by paper or 0.2 cm of water

2) Beta Radiation: Block only by aluminium.
- 4 mains factors influencing the level of radiation in order of relative importance are:
altitude, latitude, normal solar activity and random solar activity (solar flares).

Respiratory Control Center is primarily sensitive to

- Carbon DIoxide; The rate of depth of respiration is regulated by the amount of

carbon dioxide in the blood. CO2 determines the acidity of the blood.

Hypoxia

- Initial Symptoms: Deep breaths / yawning. Body tries to compensate for lack of
oxygen byu increasing oaxygen intake.
- Progressive symptoms: impaired judgement,m increased heart rate, tingling
sensations and poor visual acuity.
- Advanced symptoms: Confusion, loss of motor funcion, uncoonsciousness.

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TUC (Time of useful consciousness) = Length of time someone can act with both mental
and physical efficiency to at least perform corrective or protective measures (sucha s Don
an oxygen mask. . Measured the moment at which they are exposed to hypoxia.

EPT (Effective Perofrmance Time) vs TUC: EPT is generally shorter than TUC. IT starts at the
same time as TUC and EPT refers to the duration which someone can carry out flying
duties in the absence of adequate oxygen. The capacity for someone to perform
complex tasks.

4 Types of Hypoxia

1) Hypoxic Hypoxia: High altitudes or decompression sickness causes insufficient

oxygen in the air that is breathed.
2) Hypaemic or Anaemic hypoxia: Blood loss., carbon monoxcide poisoning. Causes
a reduction in oxygen carrying capacity in the blood. Reduces haemoglobin
capabilities in the blood.
3) Histoxic / Cytoxic: Alcohol, Narcotics causes interference with the use of oxygen in
the blood supply.
4) Stagnant Hypoxia: Inadequate circulation due to heart failure, arterial spasm,
occlusion of blood vessel and venous pooling caused by positive manoeuvres.

Anemia: Condition where a person has too little functional haemoglobin and little capacity
to transport oxygen. Anemia can also be caused by loss of blood (Anemic shock).

Blood Pressure

1) Systolic Pressure = Highest pressure, reached when heart muscles contracts

(systole) and push blood from left ventricle into the aorta.

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 2) Diastolic Pressure = Lowest pressure, reached when heart muscle relaxes and the
chambers are filled with fresh blood.

Gas Laws

1) Daltons Law: Total pressure exerted by gaseous mixture is equal to the sum of the
partial pressures of each component in a gas mixture. Thus, partial pressure of
oxygen decreases with the increase in altitude, leading to hypoxia. (hypoxia, night
vision deterioration with altitude)
2) Boyle’s Law: The volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure exerted
upon it where the temperature remains constant. P x V = C. P is pressure, V is
volume and C is constant. (Gastro intestinal barotrauma, aerodontalgia)
3) Henry’s Law: (Decompression Sickness) The amount of dissolved gas in a liquid is
directly proportional to its partial pressure above the liquid. (The body attempting
equilibrium and releasing nitrogen into the blood vessels to be expelled by the lungs
in low atmospheric conditions). (Decompression sickness, bends.)
4) Charles Law: Volume of a fixed mass of gas is directly proportional to its absolute
temperature provided that the pressure remains constant.

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People and the Environment: The Sensory System

Illusions

- Somatogravic illusion: false perceptions from misinterpretation from otolithic

organs. (Linear accelerations)
- Coriollis illusion: semi circular canals are activated at the same time moving ones
head in a turn.
- Somatogyral illusion: false perception of rotation, such as rolling out from a
prolonged turn, one may feel a sensation of turning in the opposite direction after.
- Autokinesis: A visual phenomenon that occurs while staring at a single, stationary
bright light in darkness. The object then appears to move after time.

Black Hole Effect: illusion at night over featureless terrain during approach. Pilots get a
feeling that they are higher than they actually are. This leads to crashing short of the
runway.

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Central Nervous System: Brain and spinal chord.

Vision is processed in the cortex.

Prolonged exposure to cabin noisue may lead to NIHL, which involves damage to the
receptors in the cochlea.

Angular accelerations are perceived by the semi circular canals.

- The sense of balance of the body (vestibulkar system) is located in the inner ear.
- Saccule and utricle respond to linear accelerations and gravity.

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Order in which light passes through the human eye

Cornea – Iris/pupil – Lens – Retina

Retina: composed of tiny photosensitive cells called rods and cones.

Fovea: Densely packed with cones sensitive to detail and color but require bright levels of
light. Responsible for best day vision bu ineffective during night.

Astigmatism

- Caused by a mis-shaped cornea. This causes out of focus vision.

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Scoptic Vision: Vision through operation of the Rods

Photopic vision: Vision under bright light and depends on operation of cones.

Health & Hygiene

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