Pilot Safety and High Altitude Flying

Bob Rock

Dr. Jim Stewart

Flight Physiology July 11th 2011

Gas Law

Pilot Safety and High Altitude Flying

The desire to fly fast and high is often realized when a pilot obtains a job flying for a major airline. Although the public believes (as supported by relevant statistics) that traveling by plane is relatively safe, there are many factors related to flying at high altitudes that must be considered. This paper will show how pilots are effected by the following topics.

1. Grahams Law

2. Hypoxia

In order for a pilot to remain safe, a regimented reoccurring training program on the effects of hypoxia, airplane systems and other aeromedical factors must be a requirement for pilots to be able to continue to fly.

Grahams Law There are many things to consider when flying an aircraft at altitudes above sea level. For

instance, as the altitude above the ground increases, the amount of air pressure decreases. Not only does this effect an airplanes engine performance, but it also has an effect on how the body delivers oxygen to it’s cells. If you think about the mixture of gases that are in our atmosphere

and how they are subject to the laws of physics, you will start to get and understanding of how a decrease in pressure can have an effect on pilots. Graham’s Law states that a gas at a higher

pressure bears a considerable amount of force toward a region of lower pressure. If there is a permeable membrane separating these regions of unequal pressure, each gas in a mixture will behave independently and will diffuse across a semi-permeable membrane from the higher pressure to the lower pressure. If you think of the blood in your body, and how the blood carries oxygen throughout your body, it can work the same way with carbon dioxide at an altitude above sea level. While the low pressure will release the oxygen from the blood into the body’s tissues, at the same time carbon dioxide is being released from the tissues into your blood. The longer you are exposed to...