![]() But slow changes in movement can go unnoticed, as when the plane first begins to spiral off course. Our vestibular sense works fine on solid ground and registers rapid changes in the speed and direction of our movement. The brain relies on fluid moving through the inner ear’s small canals to help establish where the body is oriented in space and where it is going. And then there’s the neurovestibular system. There is also the somatosensory system that senses temperature, pain, and, in this case, pressure, as in the “seat of the pants” feeling of being pushed down into your plane seat when the aircraft gains altitude. To traverse our world, we rely on several different senses. It is the way our brains are wired that can cause such a chaotic scenario. ![]() A death spiral, or graveyard spiral, as it’s otherwise known, is caused by our innate impulse to rely on our sensory instincts. This is what happens when the pilot is tricked by their vestibular sense, “which allows you to perceive how your body is oriented in space when you don’t have enough visual information to go on,” he adds. “It’s a catastrophic sensory illusion that can end up in a crash because someone relied on their perception of the plane’s orientation,” explains Jason Fischer, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. The plane is turning and heading downward and the pilot isn’t helping. The instruments could also indicate that the plane is drifting left or right while the pilot’s senses are pulling them in a different direction, throwing their instincts into chaos and preventing them from correcting the flight’s orientation quickly enough. Sometimes a pilot can sense that the plane is descending, but feel confused as to why. But in very rare cases, disagreement between their sensory experiences and reality can spell disaster. Substantially lowered visibility leaves them needing clarification and direction, and for that their instruments are essential. ![]() ![]() USUALLY, pilots can navigate through cloudy and foggy conditions. In Head Trip, PopSci explores the relationship between our brains, our senses, and the strange things that happen in between. ![]()
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