Effects of long and short simulated flights on the saccadic eye movement velocity of aviators

• Saccadic peak velocity varies with the simulated time-on-flight.
• Saccadic peak velocity decreases after long simulated flight > 1 h.
• Saccadic peak velocity is a valid biomarker of aviator fatigue.

Aircrew fatigue is a major contributor to operational errors in civil and military aviation. Objective detection of pilot fatigue is thus critical to prevent aviation catastrophes. Previous work has linked fatigue to changes in oculomotor dynamics, but few studies have studied this relationship in critical safety environments. Here we measured the eye movements of US Marine Corps combat helicopter pilots before and after simulated flight missions of different durations. We found a decrease in saccadic velocities after long simulated flights compared to short simulated flights. These results suggest that saccadic velocity could serve as a biomarker of aviator fatigue.

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