DOES THE COSMIC IONIZATION RADIATION EFFECT AIRCRAFTS, AIRCREW, PASSENGERS IN FLIGHTS?

    We are protected from cosmic radiation by Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere. At higher altitudes in an airplane and particularly when closer to the North and South poles, this protection is less. During a commercial flight, cosmic radiation is several times higher than on the ground thus it increases the high rate of health risks. Cosmic radiation comes from the sun and outer space and this cosmic radiation makes up about 1/6th of our exposure to natural radiation.

    Everyone, everywhere, is exposed to all kinds radiation like terrestrial radiation, cosmic radiation, man-made radiation and industrial uses like nuclear radiation. Terrestrial radiation comes from the Earth: everything is naturally radioactive, including rock, soil, water, air, animals, plants, and food. Its a natural part of the environment in which we live. The average dose from terrestrial radiation is 2 mSv(millisieverts) per year. More than half of this is from radon in your home. People are also exposed to man-made radiation, predominantly in medicine, but also from other sources. For some, radiation exposure is part of their work. Radiation dosages are measured in sieverts - but because these are so big we're talking about millisieverts mSv (a thousandth of a sievert). Rather than being an exact unit of size (because different types of radiation have different effects) an mSv measures the effective radiation dose.

    Cosmic radiation is a form of ionizing radiation that comes from the sun and outer space. A very small amount of this radiation reaches the earth. At flight altitudes, passengers and crewmembers are exposed to higher levels of cosmic radiation. When you are a high altitude pilot you spend much time in the sky. The sky is a place that we seem to understand yet there are outside forces that affect it such as cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are high-energy protons and atomic nuclei which move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the sun, our stellar neighborhood, and even distant galaxies. Cosmic rays are radioactive and they can affect human DNA. They have been shown to affect humans flying in high altitude aircraft that fly above 25,000 feet above the sea level. The cosmic rays have more of an impact on pilots at higher altitudes due to the cosmic rays being closer together and more stable in the upper atmosphere. These cosmic rays can have small or large effects on the pilots depending on the conditions. Due to the increase in air travel, this has become an international interest and as there is no definite result on the effects of cosmic rays yet the exposure does still have a negative effect like affecting DNA, especially it is of high risk on those with underlying health issues and pregnant women.

    Earth is constantly bombarded by cosmic particles which originate from the deep universe and they are wreaking havoc on our technology. While humans are protected up to some extent by the Earth’s natural magnetic shield, modern technology is not as safe. Scientists have claimed that the neutrons, muons and pions can “flip” a bit of information, which could potentially force an aircraft's computer to reboot, but more worryingly can cause a airplane to turn off its autopilot mode and in the worst case scenario these cosmic particles can even lead to some of the catastrophic aircraft accidents. When the cosmic rays interact with integrated circuit boards of an aircraft's computer, it can cause the part that is carrying the information in the chips to malfunction in a process known as a single-event upset (SEU). 

    One such example was an incident which occurred in 2008 when an SEU struck a Qantas QF72 passenger jet mid-flight, causing the plane to suddenly nose dive like dangerous death dive before the pilot took back control. Around a third of the passengers onboard were injured during flight, but it could have been much worse. Its one of the most strange and terrifying mid-air emergency in aviation history, flight QF72's primary flight computer autopilot started to malfunction and behave violently due to SEU and it tried to kill all 315 passengers onboard. Luckily, they were only saved by the quick and smart thinking of Captain Kevin Sullivan with his exceptional piloting skills from his previous military training as an US ex-fighter pilot skills to release the control stick to neutralize this malfunctioning and successfully landed the flight QF72 in the nearest remote airport to save everyone onboard.

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