Effects of hypoxia on military helicopter pilot skills

The safety of aircrew and the success of a mission depends on the technical and non-technical skills of the pilots. Helicopter cabins are not pressurized and most of them are not equipped with oxygen systems. Therefore, hypobaric hypoxia (altitude hypoxia) may affect helicopter pilots skills when flying at altitude. The aim of this thesis was to study the effect of hypoxia on pilot skills, and explore alternative methods for protecting helicopter crew against the effects of hypoxia.
Our results support the prediction made by helicopter flight instructors that pilot’s technical skills are less affected by hypoxia than non-technical skills are. We found that hypoxia affects pilots’ awareness of environment, which is a non-technical skill. In addition, our results suggest that tactile guidance of slow and deep breathing may be an additional strategy to mitigate the negative effects of hypoxia on physiology and cognitive performance.
Based on our findings, we recommended that hypoxia training would be provided to helicopter pilots as a crew while they are performing an operational flight in a flight simulator. This training should allow pilots to experience the effect of hypoxia on their technical and non-technical skills as a crew and help them recognize hypoxia symptoms during flight-related tasks. In addition, we recommended evaluation of tactile-guided slow and deep breathing in trained pilots under operational conditions.