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Instrument Flying Handbook Menu>Human
Factors>Sensory Systems for Orientation
Orientation is the awareness of the position
of the aircraft and of oneself in relation to a specific reference
point. Disorientation is the lack of orientation, and spatial
disorientation specifically refers to the lack of orientation
with regard to position in space and to other objects.
Orientation is maintained through the body’s
sensory organs in three areas: visual, vestibular, and postural.
The eyes maintain visual orientation; the motion sensing system
in the inner ear maintains vestibular orientation; and the nerves
in the skin, joints, and muscles of the body maintain postural
orientation. When human beings are in their natural environment,
these three systems work well. However, when the human body
is subjected to the forces of flight, these senses can provide
misleading information. It is this misleading information that
causes pilots to become disoriented.
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