Having a little trouble standing on that ladder? Can't look down when fixing a ceiling light fixture? Perhaps your knees even slap together like castanets when peering over the basket of a hot air balloon? If so, you're not alone. It's called acrophobia (fear of heights). And, if you're a pilot, you're more likely to have it (to some degree) than nonpilots.
Several theories of acrophobia exists. One theory suggests a fear of heights is a response that's classically conditioned. Another theory says that simply hearing about the perils associated with heights is enough to spark a phobic response. One cognitive theory even suggests people are frightened by thoughts surrounding their inability to counter a perverse, irresistible urge to jump when near a precipice.
All the above are interesting theories but none have adequately explained why the incidence of acrophobia is apparently so high in the pilot population. This, however, is not surprising since these theories fail to consider a very important part of the pilot personality - pilots like being in control.
Pilots are controllers. We like being in charge of ourselves and our environment. The more control we have, the better we feel. This may explain why we seldom manifest signs of acrophobia while flying an airplane. After all, one hand grips a flight control, the other a throttle and our feet are pushing rudders (they should be anyway!). Every available appendage is attached to a stick or pedal that makes the airplane do our bidding. Let there be no doubt, pilots are in control. And we like it that way.
Take the same pilot, however, and stand him (or her) next to a 26th floor balcony and you've got yourself a nice, little self-contained adrenaline machine. In this situation, I've known pilots who had to get down on their hands and knees just to look over the precipice. Yet, if you get our boy some Plexiglas to look through, wrap a seat belt around him and give him a stick to grab, he's just fine. Here's a possible explanation for this behavior.
According to current cognitive theory, acrophobia is related to the stimulation of a visual fantasy. When the phobic approaches a precipice, he or she responds with an inner visual drama. He may see himself falling and may even feel the physical sensations of tilting, sliding and being drawn over the edge. Called somatic imaging this explains why some acrophobics report feeling dizzy or queasy in high places. To put it simply, pilots - being the controlling types - don't react well to thoughts of falling. It's the ultimate loss of control for them.
But why is acrophobia so high in the pilot population? Perhaps a highly developed visualization skill is the reason. After all, our visualization circuits are usually buzzing with comparisons between estimated and actual trajectories, the location of traffic and other visually demanding activities. Is it any wonder that we're so good at mentally projecting ourselves into these imagined scenarios of falling?
Why don't pilots report the same queasy, sliding, falling feeling when looking out the aircraft window? Perhaps familiarity with their environment minimizes their acrophobic response.
According to Professor Mason, television news helicopter pilots (who are accustomed to low altitudes) sometimes report acrophobic feelings during flights at relatively high altitudes like 7,000 or 8,000 feet. For these pilots, a temporary change in the environment (a higher altitude) manifests itself as acrophobia. Coupling environmental familiarity with the ability to control the environment seems to minimize a pilot's acrophobia.
If you think you're the only pilot to ever experience acrophobia, you're not. Believe me, there are many aviators out there that experience similar uneasy feelings associated with high places. One person even reported that he had to turn off his TV during a PBS special on bridge building when he viewed footage shot from the top of the bridge. I have a feeling this fellow isn't alone among the pilot population.
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