Title
In-flight spatial disorientation induces roll reversal errors when using the attitude indicator
Author
Landman, A.
Davies, S.
Groen, E.L.
van Paassen, M.M.R.
Lawson, N.J.
Bronkhorst, A.W.
Mulder, M.
Publication year
2019
Abstract
We hypothesized that an incorrect expectation due to spatial disorientation may induce roll reversal errors. To test this, an in-flight experiment was performed, in which forty non-pilots rolled wings level after receiving motion cues. A No-leans condition (subthreshold motion to a bank angle) was included, as well as a Leans-opposite condition (leans cues, opposite to the bank angle) and a Leans-level condition (leans cues, but level flight). The presence of leans cues led to an increase of the roll reversal error (RRE) rate by a factor of 2.6. There was no significant difference between the Leans-opposite and Leans-level condition. This suggests that the expectation strongly affects the occurrence of an RRE, and that people tend to base their responses on motion cues instead of on information on the AI. We conclude that expectation and spatial disorientation have a large effect on piloting errors and may cause hazardous aircraft upsets. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Subject
Displays Upset recovery
Aviation
Display devices
Ergonomics
Physical therapy
Bank angles
Flight experiments
Motion cues
Spatial disorientation
Subthreshold
Surprise
Errors
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:12114d33-c791-4515-8e95-14ef2acfa104
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102905
TNO identifier
868454
Source
Applied Ergonomics, 81
Article number
102905
Document type
article