Over the past 20 years, spatial disorientation (SD) has consistently contributed to 21% of U.S. Air Force Class A aviation mishaps and 38% of aviation-related fatalities. The Air Force Safety Center (AFSC) FY93-02 mishap analysis reported that Class A mishaps resulted in 243 destroyed aircraft, 310 fatalities, and economic losses of $6.23 billion. A human factors analysis of the report's findings revealed SD was the primary cause in 25 of the fighter/ attack (FATT) mishaps. This study examines the factors leading to these FATT SD mishaps. The research was conducted in consultation with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the 311 Human System Wing (HSW) at Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, TX. It contributes to the AFSC initiative to meet the Secretary of Defense's charge to reduce preventable mishaps 50% by 2005. AFSC determined the most effective approach to meeting this goal was to focus on human factors. The aim was to identify SD risk factors by analyzing day, night, and instrument meteorological condition (IMC) mishaps that occurred during fighter operations. The data used in this report cover a 10-year period, October 1993 through September 2002. The data identified SD as either a contributing or causal factor in 25 FATT mishaps among four separate weapons systems: F16, A10, F15E, and F117. Descriptive statistics, incidence density (ID), and rate ratios (RR) were the primary methods of data analysis. All 25 aircraft mishaps were combined to calculate ID and make relevant RR comparisons. The statistics revealed that the 25 Class A SD mishaps resulted in 19 fatalities, 24 aircraft lost, and cost the USAF over $455M. In addition, Type I unrecognized SD was present in 23 of the mishaps and in 17 cases there was no attempt to recover the aircraft or eject, so controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) occurred. The primary findings revealed two flight conditions (night and IMC) associated with increased Class A mishaps due to SD. (4 tables, 6 figures, 17 re7).


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    Analysis of Spatial Disorientation Mishaps in the US Navy

    B. J. McGrath / A. H. Rupert / F. E. Guedry | NTIS | 2003



    Spatial disorientation in flight : a handbook

    Benson, A. J. / Burchard, E. | TIBKAT | 1973


    Spatial Disorientation in Flight: Current Problems

    G. Perdriel / A. J. Benson | NTIS | 1980