FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-76/5

Title and Subtitle: Visual evaluation of smoke-protective devices

Report Date: May 1976

Authors: Vaughan JA, Welsh KW

Abstract: This study was designed to determine the visual characteristics of smoke-protective devices for flight deck crews. Visual measurements were made on five male subjects, who ranged in age from 35 to 54, while they were wearing each of the 26 devices tested. These measurements included

1. visual field,
2. visual acuity,
3. stereoscopic depth perception,
4. color vision, and
5. bifocal displacement.

Reduction in the temporal and inferior fields was found with some of the goggles-mask combinations. The data indicate that 30.8 percent of the test items degraded visual acuity below 20/20 at the 0.4 m distance, 15.4 percent at 0.76 m, and 7.6 percent at 6.0 m. Mean values of depth perception ranged from 2.4 percent to 404.4 percent over control. The three tinted goggles created no alterations in color perception. Bifocals worn with the oxygen mask were displaced upward; those worn with the one-piece test items were displaced downward. Criteria for an acceptable smoke-protective device are discussed.

Key Words: Vision, Smoke Protection, Goggles, Oxygen Mask

No. of Pages: 12