Somatogravic illusion (SGI) is a stealthy killer. It reveals itself in seemingly unrelated ways and can sneak up and kill you before you know what happened.
Here are some different accident types in which SGI apparently reared its ugly head:
How Somatogravic Illusion Kills Pilots
Deadly deception reveals itself in seemingly unrelated ways and can sneak up before you know what happened.
Key Takeaways:
- Somatogravic illusion (SGI) is a dangerous sensory misperception where rapid acceleration, in the absence of visual references (e.g., dark night, IMC), falsely makes pilots feel their aircraft is pitching up.
- This illusion often causes pilots to mistakenly push the nose down, leading to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) during critical phases like takeoff or missed approaches, as evidenced by multiple fatal accidents.
- The illusion stems from the utricle in the inner ear, which cannot distinguish between linear acceleration and a true pitch-up attitude without visual cues.
- To avoid SGI, pilots must disregard physical sensations and rigorously trust and monitor flight instruments to confirm correct pitch attitude and a positive rate of climb, especially when visual references are limited.
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