The graveyard spin is a perceptual illusion that can affect a pilot who has entered an aircraft spin: as the spin continues, the pilot becomes progressively less aware of the sensation of rotation, so that a correction meant to stop the spin can itself feel like the start of a spin in the opposite direction. A pilot desensitized in this way may respond to a small rudder correction with a sensation that the spin has reversed, apply opposite rudder, and unknowingly re-enter the original spin, even though the flight instruments would still show the aircraft turning in the same direction the whole time, creating a conflict between what the pilot senses and what the instruments report. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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1. Wikipedia: Sensory Illusions in Aviation
Vestibular/somatogyral, Graveyard spin section
The graveyard spin is an illusion that can occur with a pilot who enters into a spin, and it is characterized by the pilot becoming less aware of the sense of rotation induced by the spin as the spin continues.
Graveyard spin section
The graveyard spin is an illusion that can occur with a pilot who enters into a spin, and it is characterized by the pilot becoming less aware of the sense of rotation induced by the spin as the spin continues. As the pilot becomes less aware of the spin, any correction of the spin may cause the pilot to sense that he or she is spinning in the opposite direction.
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