EEG Correlates of the Functional State of Pilots during Simulated Flights

Abstract

Analysis of variance and discriminant analysis were used to study EEG spectral characteristics recorded using 15 leads from two professional pilots with more than 15 years of experience, in the frequency band 0.1–70 Hz, during flights on a TU-154 simulator, including takeoff, landing (including in difficult conditions), and horizontal flight. The results showed that the spectral characteristics of the EEG were highly informative measures of the ongoing functional state of the pilots at different phases of flight. The high significance of the differences seen in the individual features showed them to be nonrandom and demonstrated the potential for using EEG parameters to construct a system for monitoring the pilot’s state at all stages of flight.