Beechcraft Bonanza E33 - Hypoxia

BEECHCRAFT
SectlonX
Safety Information
worriies, and family problems can be important
contributing factors. lf 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 hypoxia. In addition to
progressively insufficient oxygen at higher altitudes,
anything interfering with the blood's
abifüy to carry
oxygen can contribute to hypoxia (anemias, carbon
monoxide, and certain drugs). Also,
akohol 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. lt 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
particularly dangerous feature of hypoxia is an
increased sense of well-being,
called euphoria. lt
obscures a person's ability and desire to be critical
of
himself, slows reaction time, and impairs thinking
March, 1981
10-59