SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/ifr-somatogravic-illusion
Rapid acceleration on takeoff in clouds can feel like what attitude?
A nose-up attitude, the somatogravic illusion.
- Nose down
- A steep left bank
- Nose up ✔
Why: Rapid acceleration stimulates the otolith organs the same way tilting your head back does. That creates the sensation of a nose-up attitude, and the pilot may push the airplane into a dive.
Huh, didn't know that: A rapid throttle reduction can do the opposite, tempting a disoriented pilot to pull the nose up toward a stall.
Why did the takeoff feel so uplifting? The inner ear was lying.
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References
Answer: Nose up. Rapid acceleration stimulates the otolith organs the same way tilting your head back does. That creates the sensation of a nose-up attitude, and the pilot may push the airplane into a dive.
- FAA Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B) www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/pilots/FAA-H-8083-15B.pdf
A rapid acceleration, such as experienced during takeoff, stimulates the otolith organs in the same way as tilting the head backwards.
Checked 2026-10-10.
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