A Study of the Flight Environment Component of Aircrew Fatigue in Student Navigators

One approach to understanding the causes of aircrew fatigue is to divid them into 1 those related to the unique demands of aircrew tasks or workload and 2 those related to the unique environment of flight. The pilot not only has to navigate, make radio calls and negotiate instrument landings, but he must do it all in a noisy, vibrating, constantly moving environment. Most studies in aircrew fatigue focus on the workload part of the equation. The study described in this proposal is an attempt to define that part of aircrew fatigue which is due to the flight environment. It also attempts to determine changes in body chemistry produced by the flight environment which might be associated with aircrew fatigue. Navigator students in training at Mather Air Force Base, California, fly training missions of similar duration and quality in T-43 aircraft and ground simulators. The difference in fatigue and body chemistries after flights in these two settins represent that which is due to the difference in environments. Using student navigators as subjects, blood samples would be taken before and after 1 a five hour T-43 Boeing 737 flight and 2 a five hour ground simulator mission. Changes in a panel of 26 blood chemistries including plasma osmolality and carboxyhemoglobin for each setting would be compared for significant differences. Fatigue would be assessed in each setting using 1 a subjective fatigue questionnaire, 2 hours of sleep following the mission, and 3 performance acedemaic score.