Date of Award

Summer 8-1994

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Business Administration in Aviation

Department

Graduate Studies

Committee Chair

John Pope

Committee Member

Tom Tacker

Abstract

The study consisted of experimental research to determine the effect of alcohol on the pilots’ ability to perceive angular motion. It was hypothesized that in the absence of visual cues, pilots’ thresholds of perceiving a change in angular motion is adversely affected by alcohol in the blood, thereby increasing the potential to enter a state of spatial disorientation. The experiments were designed to simulate a real time in-flight scenario, in a rotating flight simulator, where angular accelerations could be controlled and pilots’ thresholds of perceiving a change in angular motion could be measured. The study revealed that the subjects registered a significant deterioration of their ability to perceive a change in angular motion at low Blood Alcohol Contents (BAC)

Included in

Aviation Commons

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