From unrecognized to incapacitating: Neuro-ergonomic differentiation of spatial disorientation typologies induced by visual illusions for pilot cognitive training and cockpit design

Spatial Disorientation (SD) causes 15 %–22 % of general aviation fatalities, rising to 72 % with conflicting visual references. Current detection methods fail to distinguish the three SD types: Type 1 (unrecognized), Type 2 (recognized), and Type 3 (incapacitating), nor the effects of visual illusions. This study presents a neuro-ergonomic framework combining 32-channel Electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye-tracking to identify subtype-specific signatures during visual illusions. Sixteen cadet pilots completed simulated flights under adverse weather and inconsistent instrument displays to induce the three SD types. A customized SD-Probe scale was used to label dynamic SD types during flight. The results showed hierarchical neurophysiological changes: pilots without SD had balanced brain activity; Type 1 showed the lowest neural engagement; activation increased from Type 1 to Type 3, with narrowing visual scanning. Types 2 and 3 exhibited enhanced Beta and Gamma activity in prefrontal and occipital regions, reflecting increased cognitive processing during spatial conflicts. Conflicting visual illusions heightened arousal in peripheral brain areas, disrupting spatial awareness and flight parameter cross-checking. This pioneering study monitors SD occurrence and transitions triggered by visual illusions from a neuro-ergonomics perspective, offering insights into targeted pilot training and multimodal SD detection methods.