Visual Illusions is an optical illusion which is visually perceived image that differs from reality. Optical illusion plays and fools the minds of people while trying to figure out the image shown. Visual Illusions fascinate and excite people because it challenges their understanding of “truth” and “reality”. There are various kinds of Illusions which occur with all our senses but the more common illusion that characterizes visually perceived images, differing from objective reality, is called optical illusion or visual illusion.
On 9 th May 1970, Lear jet N434E3, belonging to Executive jet airways, underwent an incident which involved optical illusion. The accident happened when the jet was approaching the Emmet County Airport. The two pilots and the other 4 passengers all lost their lives. While making the angle for descend and landing the pilots lost the visual cues and struck through the trees, approximately two miles before the runway (NTSB, 1970). After the first hit with the trees, the jet kept airborne for a mile and a half. The plane struck the trees again and upon this strike the plane crashed to the ground and was inflamed. The plane crashed through the trees and made a huge crashing site.
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The area over which the plane was hovering before making the approach to land is not heavily populated, and the runways were not highly illuminated as well. There was minimum aid to visual references, especially at night time. The weather conditions, which are very important in flights, were such that the sky was cloudy and the visibility was only 7 miles (BBC, 2014). This was the reason that the pilots were almost blind up there.
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the crash of the flight was due to visual illusion. According to them, the visual cues were not working properly for the pilots, while circling before approaching the runway. It was night time, the area was scarcely populated and even the runway was not equipped with proper lighting. The pilot was dependent on his altimeter more than his visual abilities. He made the decision of landing with the data shown by his altimeter and the average height of the trees. He kept the plane airborne after the first strike but could not maintain to keep it in air and hit the trees for the second time. The second strike as hard enough to pull the plane to the ground and destroy it.
In this incident, visual Illusions contributed to the crash due to incorrect estimations of approaching terrain. Visual Illusions is a caused by visual system and characterized by a visual precept that appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide variety and their categorization is difficult because the underlying cause is often not clear. The effect is caused by illusory or subject contours, and Visual Illusions may have caused fatal plane crash. All the people aboard this plane were killed. Pilots mostly believed that they were above the trees according to the results shown by their altimeter. An Optical Illusion was the basic reason of the plane crash. Visual Illusions is a caused by visual system and characterized by a visual precept that appears to differ from reality.
The human senses are designed generally for use on the ground, navigating by sensory input alone during flight can be dangerous: sensory input does not always accurately reflect the movement of air craft, causing sensory illusions. These illusions can be extremely dangerous for pilots. The flight crashed most probably due to the visual illusion, and both pilots Captain Kim Whiting and officer Brain Tilley were killed in plane crash.
References
BBC. (2014, December 30). AirAsia QZ8501: Does bad weather cause plane crashes. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-30631968
NTSB. (1970, December 22). Executive Jet Aviation, Inc., Lear Jet L23A, N434EJ. Retrieved from https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AAR7103.aspx
