Human Factors and CRM Flashcards
7 cards from real CPL practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Human Factors and CRM flashcards as text
Which vestibular illusion occurs when a pilot in a prolonged coordinated turn perceives the aircraft as wings-level and interprets a return to straight-and-level flight as a turn in the opposite direction?
Answer: The leans
The leans occur when the semicircular canals adapt to a prolonged turn, causing the pilot to feel banked when actually wings-level.
A pilot simultaneously tilts their head while in a prolonged constant-rate turn, triggering stimulation of all three semicircular canals. This best describes which illusion?
Answer: Coriolis illusion
The Coriolis illusion results from head movement during a sustained turn, causing an overwhelming sensation of tumbling or rotation.
During a rapid catapult-type acceleration on takeoff, a pilot may falsely perceive a nose-high attitude and push forward on the controls. This is an example of which illusion?
Answer: Somatogravic illusion
The somatogravic illusion causes the otolith organs to interpret linear acceleration as a pitch-up attitude.
Visual autokinesis is most likely to cause spatial disorientation under which condition?
Answer: Staring at a single stationary light in a dark environment
Autokinesis occurs when a pilot fixates on a single stationary light point in darkness, causing it to appear to move.
The 'black-hole approach' illusion is most dangerous because it causes the pilot to:
Answer: Believe the aircraft is too high on the glidepath and dive steeply
The black-hole illusion—featureless terrain between the aircraft and runway—causes pilots to fly a dangerously low approach, often below the glidepath.
Which factor most significantly reduces a pilot's ability to detect spatial disorientation through proprioceptive (seat-of-the-pants) cues?
Answer: Coordinated flight where all forces act symmetrically
In coordinated flight, proprioceptive cues feel normal regardless of actual attitude, making them unreliable for detecting disorientation.
A CPL candidate experiencing mild hypoxia at altitude is MOST likely to first notice which symptom?
Answer: Euphoria, impaired judgment, and overconfidence
Early hypoxia typically produces subtle cognitive effects such as euphoria and impaired judgment before obvious physical symptoms appear.