I have recently been on a trip recently to Ladakh with my
school friends. Leh, the capital of Ladakh region is located at a very high
altitude – 11000 ft above mean sea level. Please check my earlier blog “The
Adventure trip of Ladakh” on our fun activities. Now what is it for Pilots
that I am writing this blog? The very fact that it is located at 11000 ft AMSL
should raise eyebrows .
[Image Source: Skybrary]
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| At Leh Airport |
Now coming to the trip, since I did not Pilot myself there –
I cannot write anything about the performance aspects of the aircraft nor offer
any tips or tricks on Piloting to this challenging airport of Leh. So what do I
have to offer?
Some TextBook Theory to start with.
Hypoxia – “Hypoxia is
a state of oxygen deficiency in the body sufficient to impair functions of the
brain and other organs. Because of the nature of flight, flight crews are much
more likely to suffer from hypoxia than “normal” people. Knowing what to look
for and how to react to resolve the situation is essential to maintain flight
safety.” [Source: Skybrary]
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| Time to useful consciousness table |
Hypoxia signs include
increased rate and depth of breathing, tachycardia, cyanosis (blue coloured
lips and nails), mental confusion, anger, euphoria, poor judgment, loss of
muscle coordination, slouching and loss of consciousness. [Source: Skybrary]
How many like me have read the above in books and memorized
the numbers by rote? 🙋
Now, Let’s see the Human Factors in action.
For the purpose of this blog – Please treat me and my
friends as mere test subjects rather than someone who is an expert or being
shown in poor light.
The day we landed in Leh, almost all of us had some symptom
of hypoxia or the other – most notably Headache, tiredness and bloating
sensation of the tummy. I personally had a headache.
We had medical check in the evening and almost all had
elevated levels of blood pressure and lower content of Oxygen in our body with
varying heart rates. BP of upto 150 systolic was considered normal at that
altitude.
Some walking on the day2 of our trip was tiring for many but
it did help us adapt to the conditions well. Our BP, Oxygen levels and heart
rates were now normalizing.
On Day3, it was all good until we did water rafting. It was
an intense exercise which had some people gasping. I too had some breathing
difficulty for few minutes after the rafting experience.
On Day4, Couple of them including me reported having a
bleeding nose/nostrils early in the morning – probably because of the exertion
of rafting the previous day. Thankfully it was not severe for any of us.
However, during our trip to Nubra Valley via Khardungla Pass which is the
highest motorable road at 18000ft, almost all of us were struggling. One of my
friend was panting and at Khardungla pass, he vomited and was feeling unwell.
The Oxygen level in his blood dropped down to 48% and had to be put immediately
on Oxygen. He was few seconds away from passing out! Many had bloating
sensation of the tummy. We went out to take images but struggled, we found it
difficult to go to the nearby coffee shop. We were advised to remain no longer
than 10 minutes at the Khardungla pass and we realized it why – the hard way!
Here I realized the importance of Time of Useful
consciousness concept!
Day 5 and Day 6 were a breeze. The only thing on Day6 was
the Changla Pass at similar altitude of 18000 ft but this time due to the acclimatization
over the days and proper use of the drug diamox, we could carry ourselves
through!
Day 7 was significant as we friends almost all being city
riders embarked on a tough but achievable mountain biking trip to Kargil on NH1
a relatively safer road to ride on. Our communication was good in the beginning
but once the setback of a vehicle tyre puncture occurred, things started to
take a down turn. People did not look clearly in the rear view mirrors for the
other riders etc – things were not smooth. After a late lunch almost around
1400 Hrs, we started on the tougher mountainous part of the ride. We being
relatively amateur riders of the terrain, treaded cautiously. This led to us
riding in the chill which starts after 1600Hrs in that region. Because of the
chill and our poor biking gear – btw we just wore arm and knee caps on our
regular jeans and jackets, we were all suffering from chills. We kept taking
breaks and that added to more time to our journey. We kept continuing in the
dark hoping to reach the destination soon. Though the distance was less, it was
taking lot of time due to the mountainous roads. We kept pushing and pushing
and finally reached our destination at 2000 Hrs safely!
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| The terrain and roads of NH1 between Kargil and Leh |
Day8, We started out by getting our bikes checked for tyre
pressures. One bike had a nut missing for which we tried to get a replacement
which went in vain. We were split in our thinking about refueling our bikes at
the start. Finally, it was agreed that we would refuel the bike enroute as soon
as it hits the reserve tank. The day biking started smoothly and quarter of a
way two bikes developed some breaking issues. One bike exhausted its fuel
midway – the driver of the bike left it on reserve tank all the way so he did
not have an indication when it hit the reserve tank! Ironically, that rider was
the one who proposed the solution of refueling when on reserve. Thankfully it
was not far from a fuelling station – so we could refuel and continue our
journey. Many riders keeping the previous days uncomfortable night riding in
chilly conditions kept pushing to reach back Leh. So - Not all bikes were riding
together. However, we all reached our destination back safely and thanked our
stars for completing the trip safely!
Now, Let me interpret the Human Factors which were in play
during Day7 and Day8:
- · Poor Communication
- · Complacency
- · Lack of team work
- · Distraction
- · Stress/Pressure/Fatigue
- · Lack of resources/Knowledge/assertiveness
Almost
all the factors known to disrupt aviation safety were in play.
Except one, none of us were aware of the terrain/road. We
blindly accepted the challenge of biking in Ladakh which was popular “must do”
with all adventure seekers. Though few were not inclined on it, they did not
assertively push their opinion or to put it in other way, they fell on deaf
ears.
Surely given poor mobile network connectivity it added to us
not communicating well once we were halfway from our journey commencement. We
started very well with proper briefing. However once there was the setback of
tyre puncture(Distraction), the communication took a hit. Not looking at rear
view mirrors, not looking behind for the next rider let to us not going in an
orderly fashion.
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| Our Bikes and Our Biking gear |
During the journey when it was becoming dark, we just pushed
on despite the chilly weather. We were not dressed properly ie. We did not wear
biking suits – we just put on the arm and knee guards on our jeans and jackets
and started off. This lead to a very serious situation. The gear we were
wearing was not reflective enough for night riding. Next, we were riding in
chilly weather and none were comfortable with it. To add to that we were almost
tired(Fatigue). We all exhibited the classic “Get There Itis” or we were trying
to reach the destination rather than halting when we were uncomfortable
(Destination Obsession). All these almost aligned to form a huge issue for us.
But thankfully we survived without any incident.
The ride back to Leh started with a poor choice of not
refueling for the trip. However, since it was a road journey with many
refueling points, we managed – But nevertheless a poor decision which included
complacency. Also on the return journey few riders rushing back to Leh trying
to avoid the situation like the previous day. This lead to a disarray of few
bikes going ahead without being closely knit together (Lack of Team work).
Given the above examples – Did they just happen by explicit
choice? Do me and my friends have to be blamed for so many mistakes? Hypoxia
led to much of poor decision making. Thus, I choose to present this as a
working case study to understand Hypoxia.
All pilots must understand these phenomena very well – not
just read and mug up the topic for exam. Here, we had the luxury of familiarization
to the high altitude environment. In real life for Pilot, there is no such
advantage of acclimatization – Hence the importance. Hope it helps the
readers.
Happy Landings!
Special Credits:
I would like to once again thank the officers of Indian Army
who gave us wonderful advice on how to accustom to the high altitude and cope
with the conditions better. After going through the trip, all our friends
became extremely appreciative of the brave deeds and tough conditions being
endured by the soldiers at extremely high altitudes and brutal weather
conditions. A big Salute!
Other Credits:
Most theory has been taken from Skybrary an online wiki. It
requires publication of the source. [Source: www.skybrary.aero]
