Intelligence quotient of the civil air fleet flying personnel]

A total of 288 pilots were tested for the intelligence quotient (the common Aisenk tests); 189 pilots were healthy and 99 were afflicted with 1st degree essential hypertension. Age-related IQ dynamics was also analyzed. Controls were healthy pilots of five age groups. The healthy flyers received high IQs doing the visual-spatial, numeric and verbal-perception tests suggesting effectiveness of psychological screening of applicants to aviation schools, psychological selection for training in piloting high-class aircraft, and regular practicing of the analytical-synthetic mental processes in airplane flight control. Low IQs gained by the hypertensive pilots are a likely sign of premature aging of the central nervous system which is a target organ for essential hypertension.