Human Factors practice questions

Answer: A) Symptoms vary from person to person

• ACorrect. Altitude chamber training can reveal them.
• BIncorrect. Symptoms differ.
• CIncorrect. Symptoms exist but can be subtle.
• DIncorrect. They can appear much lower.

Answer: B) Search out and focus on distant light sources, even very dim ones

Empty-field myopia is nearsightedness induced when the eyes have nothing to focus on. Pilots counter it by deliberately searching out and focusing on distant lights and by scanning effectively.

• AIncorrect. Staring at a single light against a dark background can cause autokinesis, where the light appears to move. It does not correct the eyes' short focus.
• BCorrect. FAA guidance says that searching out and focusing on distant lights, however dim, helps prevent empty-field myopia, and that effective scanning gives the eyes objects to focus on.
• CIncorrect. At night the center of the retina has a blind spot, so pilots should use off-center viewing. Staring directly at objects does not cure the short focus.
• DIncorrect. Bright cockpit lighting destroys dark adaptation and makes outside objects even harder to see. It does not fix the eyes' resting focus.

Answer: B) Level the wings by reference to the attitude indicator, then correct the altitude

In a graveyard spiral, the pilot feels wings-level while the airplane descends in a banked turn, and pulling back only tightens the spiral. The pilot must trust the instruments: level the wings with the attitude indicator, then correct the altitude.

• AIncorrect. This is the classic graveyard-spiral error. The airplane is still banked, so adding back pressure tightens the spiral and increases the altitude loss.
• BCorrect. The sensation of wings-level flight is false. Using the instruments to roll wings-level first, and then correcting pitch and altitude, breaks the spiral.
• CIncorrect. Tilting the head while the airplane is turning can cause the Coriolis illusion, a severe form of disorientation. It also takes attention away from the instruments.
• DIncorrect. This bases the correction on vestibular sensations, which are unreliable without visual references. Control inputs must be based on the flight instruments.

Answer: D) Having more tasks than the pilot can handle

• AIncorrect. That isn't the meaning.
• BIncorrect. That isn't task saturation.
• CIncorrect. That's the opposite.
• DCorrect. Prioritizing helps manage it.

Answer: B) Coriolis illusion

The Coriolis illusion comes from an abrupt head movement during a prolonged constant-rate turn. It stimulates several semicircular canals at once and creates a strong false sense of rotation about another axis.

• AIncorrect. A graveyard spiral starts when a prolonged coordinated turn begins to feel like level flight. The pilot then notices altitude loss and pulls back, which tightens the spiral. It does not involve an abrupt head movement or a tumbling sensation.
• BCorrect. An abrupt head movement during a prolonged constant-rate turn stimulates more than one semicircular canal at once, creating a strong illusion of rotation in an entirely different axis. Avoid sudden head movements during prolonged turns, especially in IMC.
• CIncorrect. The somatogravic illusion comes from rapid acceleration or deceleration, such as on takeoff, which feels like a nose-up or nose-down attitude. A head movement in a turn does not cause it.
• DIncorrect. The inversion illusion follows an abrupt change from a climb to level flight, which feels like tumbling backward. It is not caused by a head movement during a sustained turn.

Answer: D) It could happen to me

• AIncorrect. That's impulsivity.
• BIncorrect. That's macho.
• CIncorrect. That's anti-authority.
• DCorrect. Accidents can happen to anyone.

Answer: D) Stagnant hypoxia

• AIncorrect. That involves low oxygen pressure.
• BIncorrect. That involves blood's carrying ability.
• CIncorrect. That involves cells' use of oxygen.
• DCorrect. Poor circulation reduces oxygen delivery.

Answer: D) Don't take chances

• AIncorrect. That's resignation.
• BIncorrect. That's anti-authority.
• CIncorrect. That's impulsivity.
• DCorrect. 'Taking chances is foolish' counters the macho attitude.

Answer: A) The pilot applies left rudder against the false sensation and re-enters the original left spin

In the graveyard spin, the slowing rotation during recovery feels like a spin in the opposite direction. A pilot who corrects against that false sensation re-enters the original spin, so the pilot must trust the instruments.

• ACorrect. This is the graveyard spin. The fluid in the semicircular canals makes the slowing rotation feel like a spin in the opposite direction. Correcting against that false feeling puts the airplane back into the original spin, and altitude loss continues.
• BIncorrect. A false sense of climbing comes from the somatogravic illusion during rapid acceleration. It is not the illusion that follows spin recovery.
• CIncorrect. A false wings-level feeling in a prolonged bank describes the graveyard spiral or the leans. Neither is the opposite-rotation sensation that follows spin recovery.
• DIncorrect. A tumbling or tilting feeling after a sudden head movement in a prolonged turn is the Coriolis illusion. It is not the illusion described in this scenario.

Answer: A) These are early signs of dehydration; drink water at frequent intervals whether thirsty or not

Headache, fatigue and dizziness are common signs of dehydration. Heat and dry air at altitude speed up water loss, so pilots should drink water often and not wait for thirst.

• ACorrect. The FAA lists headache, fatigue, sleepiness and dizziness as common signs of dehydration. It advises drinking water at frequent intervals on long flights instead of waiting until thirsty.
• BIncorrect. The FAA warns pilots not to rely on thirst as an alarm and to drink before they feel thirsty.
• CIncorrect. Dry air at altitude increases the rate of water loss, which makes pilots more prone to dehydration.
• DIncorrect. Fatigue is the first noticeable effect of dehydration, and it already reduces physical and mental performance.