DISCLOSURE / FILE
A November 1976 CIA Foreign Intelligence Information Report on Soviet Aeroflot aerospace medical research, including pilot fatigue testing equipment and a brief exchange about UFO phenomena with a Soviet radiation biologist.
CIA-UAP-012, Combating Fatigue In Crewmembers
A November 1976 CIA Foreign Intelligence Information Report on Soviet Aeroflot aerospace medical research, including pilot fatigue testing equipment and a brief exchange about UFO phenomena with a Soviet radiation biologist.
CIA report 00-B-321/33474-76, dated 10 November 1976, summarizes Aeroflot's aerospace medical research, including automated equipment that measures a pilot's blood pressure, pulse, cardiovascular function, and motor ability in roughly three minutes. The report names Oleg Georgiyevich Akoyev, a radiation biologist who explained that cosmic ray particles (phosphenes) cause pilots to 'see' flashes of light during night flying, and cybernetician Akutin of the Civil Aviation Institute of Leningrad, who built the prototype testing device. In a brief exchange, Akoyev asked the source's opinion on UFO phenomena and was told that 99 percent of occurrences trace to natural or man-made causes while one percent cannot be explained. The document notes a more redacted version has been on CIA's public website.
Aeroflot of-ficials are actively involved in aerospace medical research.p.1
Akoyev then asked, "Do you think it is pessible...could there be something coming' from outer space?"p.2
The device is activated by inserting a small metallic plate into the testing machine. The plate, one of which is carried by each crewmember, contains a biological baseline on that particular individual.p.2
Extracted text · Page 1
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_ Approved for Domestic CoJkcrion Division Foreign I nrdlig.cnn: I nformario,1 R c.:pon 01•£CTOIAlf Of OP(u.IIONS COUNTRY USSR OC0 REPOU NO. 00 - B-321 /33474-76 SU6J£CT Combating Fa tigue in Crewmembers/ Aeroflot Work Cyc les/Use of Drugs/ Bi ologica l Eff ects of Ai r c r n fc Noise/ DATE OIS!ll . NO. PAGES lo November l.976 4 f { DA TE Of ! I J l 1 i I SOURCE Radi a t 1 •o n R esearc h/UFO Phenomena, 1 Prototype Pilot Biological Psychomotor REFERE NC ES Nl~~=~:•~ i !i~ :,~::::t•tial Navigation 1 .. ·- · .. .. I ___ THIS IS UNEVA LUA TED INFORMATION -·- ------- ·----· -·-··----· ·----· - 8 SUMMARY: Aeroflot of-ficials are actively involved in aerospace medical research. They are concerned with the medical aspects of physical conditioning which impinge upon crewcember perfor•m• ance and have perfected several devices which test pilot bio logical functioning and motor response ability. Or Inal Ge" orgiyevich Akoyev, a noted radiation biologist explainr,d cosmic ray particles (phosphenes) which are causing Aeroflot pilots to "see" flashes ·of light during night flying. Or [fnu ] Akutin, cvhern:ti:ist at the Civil Aviation Institute of Leningrad showed ~ _ prototype pilot biological psychomotor testing equip .____a:e _ n ~t~ w ~ i- c~ m - e ~asu r es blood pressure, pulse rate, cardiovascular function and 1110tor ability. The equipment is automatic and test ing is _ completed in approximately three minutes. l j l, The Soviets deal with crelllllember fatigue in several ways. First, :hey emphasize and ' prOlllote physical conditioning. • If a creWl!lember 1s phy$ i cally fit, he wil l be less prone to fatigue and will recover sooner after tiring flights, Aeroflot provides exercise facilities at all major alr• • pores, and these facU.ities are supervised by a well known a.thlete. The second thing they do is to thoroughly test each cre,,,oeober prior to flir,~~ to insu~e his physi~al fitn~s• and 111ental al,ertness. At the present ti-.ttf., these tests are cond~ted by a medical team headed by a doctor, usualiy a woun. A crewmetnber 1a not alloved to fly if he fails the examina·tfon. : • These teats are nov being automated aad will take only l-3 minutes whim the prototype equipment becomes operational. Finally, there is a third Approach Aeroflot 1s using--a prophylactoriWll. Each 111.ljor airport has one, a 3 to 4 story building set off from the 11141n airport buil~1ngs, .but easily acces- ! sible by foot. These facilities are well landscaped and are designed to provik. total rest and relaxation for trans1e~t crewaembera." They have a lat'te kitcher, 5 ¢ 3 ., IPage 2 · vision OCR
‘ | CO-ED | 008-321 /35474~-76
3 .
a ]
6, Dr AKeyey asked for! personal opinion of che DFO pheromencr,
He was told thar 69 percent OF these occurrencus were tracegh te.
to either nacural or man-made phenomena such as celesceial movement, air-
cratt or artificial satellices, and thac the other one percent cannot he
explained--possibly an hallucination. Akoyev then asked, "Do you think
it is pessible...could there be something coming’ from outer space?"
7. Dr lfaus Akutin, a cybernecicist at the Civil Aviation Instituce of
Leningrad. has duveloped several prototypes of pilot resting equipmenc.
The equi:vent is planned to replace most of the currenc ducies of medical }
nersonnel who examine pilots prior to Flight. The automatic devices wtll j
be installed in ali airport flight operations facilicies. Akuctin and his
associates Jenonstrated | la sec of instruments which automac-
{cally moveure a pilot's blood pressure and pulse rare, record his cardio-
vaseulhs: fanerioning with arelectrc: cardiogram, ene test his motor reaction
process.
8. The device is activated by inserting a small metallic plate into the
testing machine. The plate, one of which is carried by each crewmember,
contains a biological baseline on that particular individual. His normal
blood pressure, pulse rate, electrocardiogram, and motor ability are coded
into the metal place. This plate is updated annually,or more often if
required. After rhe plate is inserted into the machine, the pilot places
the middle finger of each hand into two little holes and rests his wrists
on two small metal plates on a table. Smail, automatic pneumatic cups
close around the fingers and inflate. The machine then measures the blood
pressure and pulse rate by comparing the two fingers, computing a mean, and
then comparing the result with the encoded information on the pilot's plate.
The systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate are chen displaye2
on the face of che machine in an electronic digital form. At the same tixze
the machine automatically administers an electrocardiogram “across the
heart" and displays this on a cathode-ray tube. If any of these values 4.::
outside the normal standasd for that particular individual, a Light illui.-
tfatesand further examination is required by a medical doctor. If no light
‘4lluminates, the pilot is passed. t
a
9. The pilot then faces a panel of red and green colored lights. On the panei :
are green and red colored bnttons. The lights begin to illuminate in a
random fashion, with the pilot being required to press the corresponding
color button immediately to extinouish the colored light. This test
continues for approximately 20-30 seconds, during which che lights flash
in & random sequence. At the end of the testing period, the machine scores ;
the pilot's performance and digitally displays his score in the number of
correct and wrong responses. [If he. scores as high or higher than his .
standard, he is passed; if his score is lower, a light illuminates ana
further examination is required by a medical doctor. There are three
separate programs which are randomly selected, making it impossible to
memorize the sequence of the lights.
10. Finally, the pilot is seated before a miniature cockpit with a control ‘
stick and an attitude indicator. The. control stick must be moved to keep :
the attitude indicator (artificial horizon) straight and level. The :
indicator pitches up and down and from side to side and very closely dupii- . .
cates actual instrument flying conditions. The control stick also Fr
closely approximated necessary pilot skilis.’ At the end of this tesr, nes
the score is again displayed and, depending upon his standard, a pilot passes j
\ or fails. The entire sequence of testing, from ‘taking blood pressure to if
’ the control stick evaluation, takes approximately three minutes. If a
8 pilot passes all phases, his personal profile plate along with a certizi- 5
4 cate card is returned to him. He must present the certificate card to a:
3 the flight dispatcher before he is allowed to board the aircraft. 3 |
2 . 2...
e 4Concatenated page-by-page transcript. Born-digital pages came through pdf.js; scanned pages were transcribed by Claude vision OCR. Pages marked unreadable failed multiple OCR retries (heavy redaction, microfilm artifacts, or blank separators) and are kept in place for audit.
_ Approved for Domestic CoJkcrion Division Foreign I nrdlig.cnn: I nformario,1 R c.:pon 01•£CTOIAlf Of OP(u.IIONS COUNTRY USSR OC0 REPOU NO. 00 - B-321 /33474-76 SU6J£CT Combating Fa tigue in Crewmembers/ Aeroflot Work Cyc les/Use of Drugs/ Bi ologica l Eff ects of Ai r c r n fc Noise/ DATE OIS!ll . NO. PAGES lo November l.976 4 f { DA TE Of ! I J l 1 i I SOURCE Radi a t 1 •o n R esearc h/UFO Phenomena, 1 Prototype Pilot Biological Psychomotor REFERE NC ES Nl~~=~:•~ i !i~ :,~::::t•tial Navigation 1 .. ·- · .. .. I ___ THIS IS UNEVA LUA TED INFORMATION -·- ------- ·----· -·-··----· ·----· - 8 SUMMARY: Aeroflot of-ficials are actively involved in aerospace medical research. They are concerned with the medical aspects of physical conditioning which impinge upon crewcember perfor•m• ance and have perfected several devices which test pilot bio logical functioning and motor response ability. Or Inal Ge" orgiyevich Akoyev, a noted radiation biologist explainr,d cosmic ray particles (phosphenes) which are causing Aeroflot pilots to "see" flashes ·of light during night flying. Or [fnu ] Akutin, cvhern:ti:ist at the Civil Aviation Institute of Leningrad showed ~ _ prototype pilot biological psychomotor testing equip .____a:e _ n ~t~ w ~ i- c~ m - e ~asu r es blood pressure, pulse rate, cardiovascular function and 1110tor ability. The equipment is automatic and test ing is _ completed in approximately three minutes. l j l, The Soviets deal with crelllllember fatigue in several ways. First, :hey emphasize and ' prOlllote physical conditioning. • If a creWl!lember 1s phy$ i cally fit, he wil l be less prone to fatigue and will recover sooner after tiring flights, Aeroflot provides exercise facilities at all major alr• • pores, and these facU.ities are supervised by a well known a.thlete. The second thing they do is to thoroughly test each cre,,,oeober prior to flir,~~ to insu~e his physi~al fitn~s• and 111ental al,ertness. At the present ti-.ttf., these tests are cond~ted by a medical team headed by a doctor, usualiy a woun. A crewmetnber 1a not alloved to fly if he fails the examina·tfon. : • These teats are nov being automated aad will take only l-3 minutes whim the prototype equipment becomes operational. Finally, there is a third Approach Aeroflot 1s using--a prophylactoriWll. Each 111.ljor airport has one, a 3 to 4 story building set off from the 11141n airport buil~1ngs, .but easily acces- ! sible by foot. These facilities are well landscaped and are designed to provik. total rest and relaxation for trans1e~t crewaembera." They have a lat'te kitcher, 5 ¢ 3 ., I‘ | CO-ED | 008-321 /35474~-76
3 .
a ]
6, Dr AKeyey asked for! personal opinion of che DFO pheromencr,
He was told thar 69 percent OF these occurrencus were tracegh te.
to either nacural or man-made phenomena such as celesceial movement, air-
cratt or artificial satellices, and thac the other one percent cannot he
explained--possibly an hallucination. Akoyev then asked, "Do you think
it is pessible...could there be something coming’ from outer space?"
7. Dr lfaus Akutin, a cybernecicist at the Civil Aviation Instituce of
Leningrad. has duveloped several prototypes of pilot resting equipmenc.
The equi:vent is planned to replace most of the currenc ducies of medical }
nersonnel who examine pilots prior to Flight. The automatic devices wtll j
be installed in ali airport flight operations facilicies. Akuctin and his
associates Jenonstrated | la sec of instruments which automac-
{cally moveure a pilot's blood pressure and pulse rare, record his cardio-
vaseulhs: fanerioning with arelectrc: cardiogram, ene test his motor reaction
process.
8. The device is activated by inserting a small metallic plate into the
testing machine. The plate, one of which is carried by each crewmember,
contains a biological baseline on that particular individual. His normal
blood pressure, pulse rate, electrocardiogram, and motor ability are coded
into the metal place. This plate is updated annually,or more often if
required. After rhe plate is inserted into the machine, the pilot places
the middle finger of each hand into two little holes and rests his wrists
on two small metal plates on a table. Smail, automatic pneumatic cups
close around the fingers and inflate. The machine then measures the blood
pressure and pulse rate by comparing the two fingers, computing a mean, and
then comparing the result with the encoded information on the pilot's plate.
The systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate are chen displaye2
on the face of che machine in an electronic digital form. At the same tixze
the machine automatically administers an electrocardiogram “across the
heart" and displays this on a cathode-ray tube. If any of these values 4.::
outside the normal standasd for that particular individual, a Light illui.-
tfatesand further examination is required by a medical doctor. If no light
‘4lluminates, the pilot is passed. t
a
9. The pilot then faces a panel of red and green colored lights. On the panei :
are green and red colored bnttons. The lights begin to illuminate in a
random fashion, with the pilot being required to press the corresponding
color button immediately to extinouish the colored light. This test
continues for approximately 20-30 seconds, during which che lights flash
in & random sequence. At the end of the testing period, the machine scores ;
the pilot's performance and digitally displays his score in the number of
correct and wrong responses. [If he. scores as high or higher than his .
standard, he is passed; if his score is lower, a light illuminates ana
further examination is required by a medical doctor. There are three
separate programs which are randomly selected, making it impossible to
memorize the sequence of the lights.
10. Finally, the pilot is seated before a miniature cockpit with a control ‘
stick and an attitude indicator. The. control stick must be moved to keep :
the attitude indicator (artificial horizon) straight and level. The :
indicator pitches up and down and from side to side and very closely dupii- . .
cates actual instrument flying conditions. The control stick also Fr
closely approximated necessary pilot skilis.’ At the end of this tesr, nes
the score is again displayed and, depending upon his standard, a pilot passes j
\ or fails. The entire sequence of testing, from ‘taking blood pressure to if
’ the control stick evaluation, takes approximately three minutes. If a
8 pilot passes all phases, his personal profile plate along with a certizi- 5
4 cate card is returned to him. He must present the certificate card to a:
3 the flight dispatcher before he is allowed to board the aircraft. 3 |
2 . 2...
e 4