Abstract
A Coriolis test on the USAFSAM biaxial stimulator was administered to 131 pilots. Two groups of pilots (“rested” and “fatigued”) were tested twice. Some of the pilots in each group got motion sickness during the initial test period. A two-parameter analog, measuring the rates of decay and sensitivity coefficients of vertical nystagmic responses, was used to compare the effects of fatigue and induced motion sickness on the nystagmic responses induced by Coriolis accelerations.
Fatigue, in terms of moderate sleep deprivation of 24 to 30 hr., had significant deleterious effects on the vestibulo-ocular responses. Fatigue and induced motion sickness, simultaneously occurring, showed further deterioration of the vestibular system when compared with the nystagmic responses of rested and nonsick pilots. Such results indicate that fatigue and induced motion sickness make flying even more hazardous.
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