Biomedical subjects

P D Navathe

Publications and source records attributed to P D Navathe.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

Prevalence of spatial disorientation in Indian Air Force aircrew.

The 1 Aero Medical Training Centre has surveyed aircrew of the Indian Air Force to determine the prevalence of Spatial Disorientation (SD), as related to aircraft stream, age, flying experience, geographical location and other operationally significant variables. The reported prevalence of SD is 75% among fighter aircrew, 64% in transport aircrew, and 55% in helicopter aircrew. Whereas the prevalence of SD does not appear to vary significantly with age and flying experience, it is higher in fully operational pilots and in pilots returning to flight duties after a ground tenure, as compared to ab-initio and type-converting pilots.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

An operational definition for spatial disorientation.

Spatial disorientation (SD) is a term which continues to have different meanings for different classes of people involved with aviation. The advent of new terms like "situational awareness" (SA), has only added to the plethora of existing definitions, leading to a difference of opinion among researchers worldwide. Lack of agreement regarding the semantics of SD among various aircraft accident investigators leads to different yardsticks in determining whether or not an accident is SD-related. These definitional differences do not allow for inter-Air Force comparisons of SD accident data, and a valuable opportunity to learn from the experience of others is lost. The authors examine the existing definitions, and propose a new practical operational definition of SD, for use in investigation and classification of aircraft accidents.

Aerospace Medicine↗

PubMed1994

Indian Air Force and world spatial disorientation accidents: a comparison.

Human error is known to be a major contributory factor in aviation accidents, with spatial disorientation (SD) a preeminent cause within this group. This paper presents incidence of SD-related accidents in some major Air Forces of the West, and compares it with Indian Air Force (IAF) data from 1970 to 1990. Incongruence between the Indian and Western (U.S. and British) data is discussed, and possible reasons for this are highlighted. The authors suggest a review of the existing working definition of spatial disorientation with particular reference to its usage by accident investigators.

Accidents, Aviation↗