84 SA Flyer Magazine
“If God had meant us to
y, he would have given
us more money,” goes the
old joke.
A
chieving the miracle of ight
is tough and expensive –
and compared to the birds
and insects to which ight
comes naturally, us humans
are ill-equipped for it. Whether your beliefs
are based on Christian fundamentalism or
Darwinism, whoever (or whatever) created
us, gave us logical brains and imagination,
instead of wings or feathers.
And, as a species of ground-pounders,
we lack the basic mentality that makes
ying something easy to master. First of all,
we had to create machines that enable us
to y. Then we had to master those infernal
creations that sometimes seem to be
possessed by demons intent on destroying
us.
THE THREE LEVELS OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
Leaving the medical techno-babble
aside, our understanding of the functions
of the human brain can be simplied as
existing on three basic levels:
The lowest and most primitive layer
of our consciousness is where those very
basic instinctive functions live: nding food,
sex, seeking shelter from the elements,
protecting ourselves from danger and
ghting off predators. All living creatures
have these fundamental functions which
are essential to their survival.
More complex creatures have higher
brain functions, which enable them to learn.
This learning layer enables the animal
to better adapt to its environment. Some
domesticated creatures such as dogs and
horses are particularly good learners, and
their abilities enable them to use humans
to provide food, shelter, protection and
comfort, instead of having to fend for
themselves.
Humans are unique in having the
ability to reason, to rationalise and to
create concepts and make things. This
rational layer of our consciousness makes
us the only creatures that can anticipate
the future. We can take two or more
pieces of information, put them together
and create something that never existed
before. We are singularly able to foresee
circumstances, cogitate over them, and
plan how to deal with those circumstances
in ways that benet us.
FIGHT NOT FLIGHT
When faced with something fearful,
most higher order creatures respond to
the threat by reverting to that primitive,
instinctive layer. We panic when things
go wrong. Panic is a sudden sensation
of fear, which is so strong that it prevents
reason and logical thinking, replacing it with
overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic
agitation consistent with an animalistic ght
or ight reaction. Essentially, we shut off the
learned and rational layers of our brains.
Almost all land-based creatures, even
babies, have an instinctive fear of heights
– a fear of falling. In addition, we also
AOPA BRIEFING
FIGHT OR FLIGHT
Chris Martinus ‒ Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association – South Africa
Airline pilots spend so
much time practicing
emergencies in the
‘sweatbox’ of the
simulator to train out
primitive responses.
85 SA Flyer Magazine
fear those feelings of disorientation when
what we see out of an aircraft’s windows
does not match up with the messages our
inner ear is sending our brain. More than
anything, we fear that we are not in control
and that we cannot escape.
That panicked ght or ight response
releases a host of hormones and triggers
neurons that increase heart rate, blood
pressure, blood sugar and lung action.
Some blood vessels are constricted, while
others dilate to divert blood to the muscles,
spinal reexes are suppressed, hearing is
reduced, pupils dilate and we suffer tunnel
vision. We go pale, start shaking, our mouth
goes dry and even the bladder sphincter
relaxes.
These intense responses are the
very primitive way our brains prepare us
for violent muscular action. They provide
creatures with the mechanisms to rapidly
respond to physical threats against survival.
Some humans and animals may respond
by freezing, hopefully so that predators may
not see them, while others are spurred into
frantic ‘ght or ight’ action.
The evolutionary explanation is that
early humans had to react to threatening
stimuli quickly and did not have time to
psychologically and physically prepare
themselves.
But that ‘ght or ight’ response is not
useful to the pilot of an aircraft.
EVOLVE
Clearly, we were created to deal with
emergencies very different from those we
may encounter in the cockpit of an aircraft,
where the correct responses require cool,
logical thinking instead of ghting or eeing.
Humans have the ability to control
panic by exercising disciplined thinking and
training. This is why airlines pilots spend
so much time sweating out emergency
procedures in the ‘sweatbox’ of the
simulator – they need to train out the
natural primitive response. By confronting
the fearful events we may face when ying
an aircraft, we can develop the appropriate
responses in that layer of our brain where
learned responses reside.
Facing our fears and repeating the
actions that are necessary to deal with
the dangerous circumstances we might
nd ourselves in when ying is essential.
It will develop neural connections that will
trigger automatic responses that will result
in our best chances of survival. It will also
condition us to rationally deal with the
problems we face.
It may seem obvious, but repetitive
drills are the essential part of being and
becoming a procient pilot. Instead of
just building hours, we need to build and
maintain that learning layer of our brains.
If we don’t, when we are faced with
an emergency, we will likely revert to that
unhelpful primitive caveman behaviour.
AOPA BRIEFING
SA Flyer 2013|02
SA Flyer 2017|10
Nico van Staden 083 321 0916
nico@aerostratus.co.za
Mary Ann 083 778 9293
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Fight or Flight response might have been beneficial to early humans,
but can be dangerous in the cockpit.
