Assessment of sensory loads in civil aviation pilots

Introduction. Performing flights on modern types of aircraft is accompanied by an increase in the role of process automation, changes in the structure of the pilot’s information field, an increase in the number of controlled indicators throughout the flight time and, as a result, an increase in sensory loads that contribute to the development of chronic depletion of functional reserves of the body and fatigue of the pilot, which can cause accidents and plane crashes.

The aim of the study is to assess the sensory loads of members of flight crews of civil aviation aircraft when they perform regular operating procedures in a Training center on fully functional complex simulators for training cadets, flight, dispatcher and technical personnel of civil aviation.

Materials and methods. A hygienic study was conducted to assess the sensory loads of pilots in the framework of performing simulation flights on full-featured complex simulators in strict step-by-step accordance with the manual for flight operation of the aircraft (33 flights were performed with the participation of 66 pilots aged 30–55 years).

Results. The data obtained indicate high levels of sensory loads in pilots, which are 9.5 times higher than the maximum values set by the Management of R 2.2.2006–05 and MI NTP. INT–17.01–2018. For 4 of the 6 evaluated indicators, sensory loads corresponded to class 3.2.

Conclusions. The general assessment of the labor intensity class for members of flight crews of civil aviation aircraft on the set of sensory loads corresponds to harmful strenuous work of the 3rd degree (4 indicators of sensory loads with class 3.2). The results of the study are the basis for the approval of new hygienic criteria for establishing a class of working conditions for certain indicators of sensory loads for members of flight crews of the aircraft of the civil aviation (CA) with the addition of their class 3.3. A real assessment of the pilot’s labor intensity should be obtained only on the basis of time-based measurements performed as part of a step-by-step analysis of the aircraft’s flight operation manual.

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