Spiral dive entered by a pilot due to spatial disorientation
Graveyard spiral
In aviation, a graveyard spiral is a type of dangerous spiral dive entered into accidentally by a pilot who is not trained or not proficient in flying in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).[1] Other names for this phenomenon include suicide spiral, deadly spiral, death spiral and vicious spiral.[2]
Graveyard spirals are most common at night or in poor weather conditions where no horizon exists to provide visual correction for misleading inner-ear cues.[3]
Graveyard spirals are the result of several sensory illusions in aviation which may occur in actual or simulated IMC, when the pilot experiences spatial disorientation and loses awareness of the aircraft's attitude. The pilot loses the ability to judge the orientation of their aircraft due to the brain's misperception of spatial cues.
The graveyard spiral consists of both physiological and physical components. Mechanical failure is often a result, but generally not a causal factor, as it is the pilot's sense of equilibrium which leads to the spiral dive. Flying by "the seat of the pants", and failing to recognize and/or respond to instrument readings, is the most common source of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), where an airplane controlled by a pilot hits the ground.[3]
^Federal Aviation Administration. 2016. Aeromedical Factors. Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. p 16-6 Oklahoma City, OK: FAA Flight Standards Service.
^Soderlind, Paul A (May 11, 2000), The Deadly Spiral, AVWeb.com
^ abNaval Air Training Command. 2002. Joint Aerospace Physiology Student Guide: Spatial Disorientation. Corpus Christi, TX: AETC/BUMED Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training.
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