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Slngle Engine (Piston)
FATIGUE
Section X
Safety Information
Fatigue generally slows reaction time and causes errors due
to inattention. In addition to the most common cause of
fatigue; insufficient rest and loss of sleep, the pressures of
business, financial worries, and family problems can be
important contributing factors. If you are tired, don't fly.
HYPOXIA
Hypoxia, in simple terms, is a lack of sufficient oxygen to
keep the brain and other body tissues functioning properly.
There is a wide individual variation in susceptibility to hyp-
oxia. In addition to progressively insufficient oxygen at
higher altitudes, anything interfering with the blood's ability
to carry oxygen can contribute to hypoxia (anemias, carbon
monoxide, and certain drugs). Also, alcohol and various
drugs decrease the brain's tolerance to hypoxia.
Your body has no built-in alarm system to let you know
when you are not getting enough oxygen. It is impossible to
predict when or where hypoxia will occur during a given
flight, or how it will manifest itself. Some of the common
symptoms of hypoxia are increased breathing rate, a light-
headed or dizzy sensation, tingling or warm sensation,
sweating, reduced visual field, sleepiness, blue coloring of
skin, fingernails, and lips, and behavior changes. A particu-
larly dangerous feature of hypoxia is an increased sense of
well-being, called euphoria. It obscures a person's ability
and desire to be critical of himself, slows reaction time, and
impairs thinking ability. Consequently, a hypoxic individual
commonly believes things are getting progressively better
while he nears total collapse.
The symptoms are slow but progressive, insidious in onset,
and are most marked at altitudes starting above ten thou-
sand feet. Night vision, however, can be impaired starting at
an altitude of 5,000 feet. Persons who have recently overin-
dulged in alcohol, who are moderate to heavy smokers, or
May, 1994
10-41
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