piper pa-28-161 warrior IIIMesa Pilot Development
Arizona State University

When I was attending Arizona State University in their Aeronautical Management Technology (Professional Flight) program, we were given the opportunity to learn about and personally experience the affects of hypoxia and altitude sickness.  This was done in ASU's Altitude Chamber, which allows students to experience the physiological effect oxygen deprivation has on the body.  During this experience, ASU records the video and then offers it for sale to the students.  I purchased a copy so that I could remember my experience, and now I'm sharing it with you.

I am reminded of this experience because of the two recent incidents, in less than a week, involving unresponsive pilots.  Both of those aircraft were lost along with the souls on board.  The first thought, when aircraft are at altitude over 10,000 feet is that the pilots were unconscious because they were suffering from hypoxia.  Now, I'm not an expert and I have no idea if hypoxia actually played a part in these two incidents, but it is a possibility.  As you can see from the video, if you managed to watch all 60 minutes of it, hypoxia affects everyone differently.  The end result is always the same, but the symptoms are different to each individual and those symptoms will be the same every time your body is deprived of oxygen.  ASU's main purpose for putting their professional pilot students through this is so each one of them can learn what their symptoms are so they can recognize them when they are flying and take the proper procedures before they lose consciousness.

While I didn't go on to become a professional pilot, I am glad that I was able to take part in ASU's Altitude Chamber.  It was an amazing experience where I was able to learn a lot about my body and the way it reacts when deprived of oxygen.