Details:

Creators:
Nesthus, Thomas E. ; Garner, Robert P. ; Mills, Scott H ; Wise, Robert A
Nesthus, Thomas E. ; Garner, Robert P. ; Mills, Scott H ; Wise, Robert A Less -
Corporate Creators:
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute ; OMNI Corporation
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute ; OMNI Corporation Less -
Corporate Contributors:
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace Medicine
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Aviation Safety
Hypoxia
Multiple Complex Task Performance
Oxygen Equipment
Requirement For Aviation
Simulated Altitude
Smoking
Supplemental Oxygen

Publication/ Report Number:
DOT/FAA/AM-97/7
Resource Type:
Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:
United States
Edition:
Final Report
Corporate Publisher:
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Abstract:
General aviation pilots are permitted to fly without the use of supplemental oxygen up to an altitude of 12,500 ft. However, hypoxia occurs at altitudes under 12,500 ft. Personal lifestyle, physical conditioning, and illness can interact with hypoxia to affect performance. This study evaluated physiological and cognitive performance of smokers and nonsmokers during sessions of mild hypoxia. Methods: Nine male smokers and 9 nonsmokers, after passing a Class III flight physical, performed the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB) during separate 2-hr. sessions while breathing oxygen mixtures that simulated sea level, 5,000 ft., 8,000 ft., and 12,500 ft. altitude conditions. Results: Four physiological measures: transcutaneous partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide (PtcO2 and PtcCO2), heart rate (HR), and oxyhemoglobin saturation (SaO2), demonstrated significant trends across the simulated altitude conditions and for some measures, between groups. Significant effects were found for MATB monitoring task measures. Smoking group and group by altitude interaction effects were also found for the monitoring task measures. Significant smoking group differences were found in tracking performance. Discussion: Results of the physiological measures obtained, confirmed the study's targeted levels of hypoxia. Smokers exhibited elevated HR and lower PtcCO2 values, compared with nonsmokers. Elevated HR is consistent with nicotine effects. Reduced PtcCO2 values may indicate greater hyperventilation among the smokers. Group differences in MATB performance involved tasks that were adjacent to the attention demanding fuel management task for which performance results were the same. Consistent with smoking research and studies of combined lowered oxygen tension and carbon monoxide, smokers may have experienced a reduction of peripheral vision and their ability to visually monitor several tasks simultaneously. The smoker group exhibited higher error rates and false alarms for the peripherally-located monitoring tasks, and showed significantly poorer tracking task performance, compared to the nonsmoker group.
Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
CAMI
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:3a1e838a330676f7618ef340fb9ba376c149680815ab587694fb0f254e8af282
File Type:

Supporting Files

• No Additional Files

More +